European trading floors opened Thursday's session with declines, correcting the historic highs from the previous day. Investors' attention is focused on the publication of financial results from giants. Stellantis reported its first-ever annual loss of 22 billion euros, a result of revising its electromobility plans. Meanwhile, Leonardo, despite good operational results, is grappling with a share price discount ahead of presenting its new strategy, while simultaneously promising a significant dividend increase for shareholders.

Historic Loss for Stellantis

The automotive conglomerate closed 2025 with a loss of 22 billion euros due to write-offs related to electric vehicle programs.

Financial Offensive by Leonardo

The defense giant plans a 20% dividend increase and is finalizing key acquisitions and international contracts.

Inflation Stabilization According to ECB

Christine Lagarde predicts a decline in food prices and a return of inflation to the target around 2% by 2026.

Merger of MPS and Mediobanca

On the Milan stock exchange, bank share prices are rising in anticipation of details of the plan to merge both institutions.

The session on European capital markets brought a cooling of sentiment after a period of dynamic growth that had pushed Milan's FTSE Mib index to levels not seen since 2000. The main factor determining investor behavior is the publication of financial reports for 2025. The situation of the Stellantis conglomerate deserves particular attention, as it reported a net loss of around 22 billion euros. This is the first negative annual result in the entity's history, caused mainly by a costly correction of its strategy in the electric vehicle segment. Nevertheless, the company's management points to the first signs of improvement visible in the fourth quarter. Completely different sentiments prevail in the defense and technology sector. The Italian conglomerate Leonardo exceeded its own financial targets, prompting Chairman Roberto Cingolani to announce an approximately 20% dividend increase. The company is also finalizing the acquisition of Iveco's defense vehicles division and is negotiating the establishment of a joint venture in the aerostructures segment with an international partner, which, according to market speculation, is a Saudi sovereign wealth fund. Additionally, the company is close to announcing a £1 billion contract to supply helicopters for the United Kingdom. The banking sector in Europe is currently undergoing a phase of consolidation and restructuring, as seen in the planned merger of MPS and Mediobanca banks, aimed at creating a stronger entity capable of competing in the EU market.Simultaneously, markets are closely observing the macroeconomic situation. The President of the ECB, Christine Lagarde, in a speech before the European Parliament, signaled that food price inflation should systematically decline, stabilizing slightly above the 2% level by the end of 2026. Positive signals are also coming from the gas market in Amsterdam, where commodity prices fell to 30.9 euros per megawatt-hour. Investors welcomed the results of the American giant Nvidia with optimism, confirming the sustained high demand for artificial intelligence solutions.

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