The FTSE MIB closed down 0.85% on Thursday, 24 September 2026, at 51,543 points, with Fincantieri among the worst performers, dropping 5.47% to €11.76. Despite the announcement of a €3.7 billion naval contract with the Italian Navy, managed through the joint venture Orizzonti Sistemi Navali with Leonardo, investor sentiment remained negative. Trading volumes surged 28% above the monthly average, reflecting heightened uncertainty. The stock’s decline follows a turbulent year marked by sharp sell-offs, contributing to ongoing concerns about working capital management and the sustainability of defense sector profits.
The yield on the Italian 10-year BTP rose to 4.54%, up 4.3 basis points in a single session, while the German 10-year bund held at 3.60%—its highest level since September 2008. The spread between the two reached 94.6 basis points, its highest in six months. This move reflects a broader flight to safety among global investors, who are reducing exposure to riskier European government debt, particularly in nations more vulnerable to energy price shocks. Italy, which imports around 40% of its natural gas and has a less electrified vehicle fleet than the EU average, is seen as especially exposed. As a result, borrowing costs for both the Italian state and households are rising: new fixed-rate mortgages and corporate loans have seen rate increases of 0.3–0.5 percentage points.
In contrast, Eni rose 1.39% to €24.04, contributing to a year-to-date gain of 67.3%. The rally was driven by surging oil prices—WTI closed at $96.71 per barrel (+4.93%), while Brent reached $105.45 during trading. Natural gas prices also jumped to €76.13 per MWh (+5.74%). The upward pressure on energy revenues has bolstered Eni’s cash flow, enabling the company to reaffirm its share buyback plan, signaling confidence to investors. Eni remains one of the MIB’s most resilient stocks, with market value continuing to grow despite broader volatility.
The artificial intelligence sector saw a significant correction, weighing heavily on infrastructure-linked stocks. Technoprobe, a leader in AI chip testing, fell 4.84% after a year in which its share price doubled. The decline was not due to deteriorating fundamentals—revenue rose 19% in Q1 2026 and net profit grew 44.2%—but rather to a market reassessment of overvalued valuations. Investor caution has grown following public remarks by several AI executives calling for slower innovation. Prysmian, despite securing long-term contracts with major data centers and planning a $1.25 billion investment in U.S. fiber optics, dropped 3.85%. STM, which supplies semiconductors for data processing, also slid 2.73%, despite nearly doubling its data center revenue since 2025. The sector is not in crisis but entering a phase of tighter selection: investors are favoring companies with proven contracts over those with speculative growth.
The banking sector showed divergence: Intesa Sanpaolo (+0.25%) and Mediobanca (+0.28%) held steady, but Unicredit (-1.55%), Bper (-1.26%), and MPS (-0.66%) slipped, sensitive to sovereign risk. Other declines included Stellantis (-4.31%), Lottomatica (-3.1%), Avio (-3.01%), and Moncler (-1.6%). Only Poste (-0.98% — correction: actually up 0.98%) and Tenaris (+0.85%) posted modest gains, supported by stable energy demand and steady order books. European markets broadly followed suit, with Frankfurt down 0.65%, Paris down 0.52%, and London down 0.24%. Wall Street also retreated, with the Dow Jones (-0.7%) and Nasdaq (-0.8%) closing lower.
In Brief:
• Fincantieri fell 5.47% despite a €3.7 billion naval contract.
• The BTP-Bund spread hit 94.6 basis points, its highest in six months.
• Brent crude neared $105.45 per barrel, driving Eni’s 67.3% annual gain.
• Technoprobe, Prysmian, and STM fell 2.73%–4.84% amid AI sector correction.
• Unicredit was the worst-performing bank, down 1.55%.
This session marks a turning point: markets are no longer valuing profits alone but assessing resilience against geopolitical risk, rising rates, and latent inflation. Companies with strong balance sheets and solid contracts—like Eni—are holding up. Those exposed to high debt, overvalued tech narratives, or energy volatility are being penalized.
