European stock markets ended the trading day in negative territory, moving counter to the trend seen on Wall Street. Investors maintained a cautious stance while awaiting the Federal Reserve`s monetary policy decisions and statements from Chairman Jerome Powell. Significant attention was also focused on ongoing discussions between the United States and China regarding trade tariffs.
Piazza Affari, the Milan Stock Exchange, closed the session with losses. Its benchmark index, the Ftse Mib, finished trading down 0.62%, settling at 38,319 points.
Other major financial centers across the continent also closed lower: Paris saw a contraction of 0.91%, followed by Frankfurt (-0.57%), London (-0.44%), and Madrid (-0.37%).
Banking sector stocks were a notable drag on the Milan listing, while market participants closely watched quarterly results and potential developments in the sector`s consolidation efforts.
The spread between Italian and German government bond yields narrowed, concluding the day at 107 basis points, down from 108 in the previous session. The yield on the 10-year Italian bond decreased by seven basis points, settling at 3.54%. A similar downward trend was observed for the yields of other European sovereign bonds as the US central bank meeting approached. The yield on the German Bund fell to 2.47%, the Spanish to 3.12%, and the French stood at 3.19%.
The Euro/Dollar exchange rate saw a slight dip, positioning at 1.135. Precious metals retreated, with gold trading at 3,385.4 dollars per ounce, a decrease of 1.35%. Downward pressure also affected oil (Light Sweet Crude Oil), which continued the session at 58.47 dollars per barrel.
Among the prominent stocks on the Milan index, Buzzi (-3.51%) and Diasorin (-3.04%) registered negative performances, influenced by potential US decisions on tariffs. Brunello Cucinelli also saw a significant decline, dropping by -1.97%.
In the financial sector, Intesa Sanpaolo fell 1.99%, experiencing profit-taking after the stock`s considerable appreciation. Unicredit (-1.62%), Banco Bpm (-0.89%), and Monte dei Paschi (-0.86%) also trended negatively. Generali was down (-0.82%). Conversely, Banca Mediolanum bucked the trend with a 1.03% advance, and Mediobanca rose by 0.59%.
Tim showed weakness (-0.61%). Stellantis (-0.26%) and Prysmian (-0.24%) experienced little movement.
Amplifon delivered an excellent performance, rising by +2.75%. Italgas was positive (+1.39%). Gains were also seen in Hera (+0.72%), Enel (+0.61%), and Poste Italiane (+0.60%).
In the mid-capitalization segment, Ariston Holding (+5.40%), CIR (+2.50%), Anima Holding (+2.29%), and WIIT (+1.85%) were notable gainers.
However, the most substantial losses were recorded by Zignago Vetro, which finished trading down 10.33%. It was a particularly negative day for Juventus, which registered a decline of 10.09%. The stock of the “Bianconeri” club dropped below the 3 euro threshold, settling at 2.922 euros per share. Downward pressure was also evident on ERG, with a marked decrease of 3.04%, and Ferretti, which showed a loss of 2.93%.