Mib up, Monte dei Paschi good

(Alliance News) - Piazza Affari closed higher on Friday, on another day lacking in relevant macroeconomic cues and with Wall Street open for only half the session due to Thanksgiving.

Axel Rudolph, senior market analyst at IG, said, "Equities lacked direction due to low volumes and low trading volatility as U.S. private sector activity rose marginally and German business morale improved less than expected. Indexes, with the exception of the FTSE 100, rose for the fourth consecutive week despite the European economic engine heading for a double-dip recession while Germany's final quarterly Gross Domestic Product fell 0.1 percent, as expected."

"Global yields recovered from November lows amid low trading volumes ahead of next week when a large number of U.S. Treasury bonds will be on sale. However, this did not seem to help the U.S. dollar, which continued to slide. Commodities such as oil, gold and silver are also trading in ranges of low volatility and low volumes ahead of the OPEC+ meeting -- postponed until next week --, which will now be held on November 30."

The FTSE Mib closed Friday up 0.7 percent to 29,432.30, the Mid-Cap was up 0.5 percent to 41,790.60, the Small-Cap gained 0.8 percent to 25,993.47, and Italy Growth was up 0.3 percent to 7,882.45.

In Europe, London's FTSE 100 closed up 0.1 percent, Paris' CAC 40 finished up 0.2 percent, and Frankfurt's DAX 40 was up 0.3 percent.

On the main list in Piazza Affari, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena continued to perform well throughout the session, closing up 1.9 percent after the Ministry of Economy and Finance sold its shares and following rumors of a banking reshuffle it would be involved in.

Mediobanca lost 0.1 percent after reporting that the board of directors appointed Vittorio Pignatti Morano and Sabrina Pucci as vice presidents of the bank.

In addition, Angela Gamba was confirmed as lead independent director.

Eni gained ground, rising 0.9 percent. The company reported that, with its partner Petroci, it successfully started production from Baleine in August this year, achieving a time-to-market of less than two years from the giant discovery.

Banco BPM--down 0.1 percent--reported that it has successfully completed a new senior preferred social issue with a maturity of four years in the amount of EUR500 million. The issue is the group's first full investment grade.

Orders, amounting to more than EUR2 billion, exceeded four times the amount issued, with the participation of more than 150 investors, confirming the increasing recognition by investors in the Banco BPM name. About 90 percent of the allocated orders had an ESG connotation.

On the Mid-Cap, Juventus Football Club--up 0.7 percent--reported Thursday that the shareholders' meeting approved proposals to increase share capital and regroup shares in the ratio of one for every 10 shares held.

In detail, the shareholders' meeting resolved to reduce the share capital to EUR50,000 from EUR23.4 million and to approve the proposed share capital increase, for cash, to be carried out by December 31, 2024, for a maximum total amount of EUR200 million, including share premium, by issuing new ordinary shares with no par value.

MFE-MediaForEurope - with A shares up 6.6 percent and B shares up 2.8 percent - rose after reporting that in the first nine months of the year it reported a consolidated net profit of EUR71.0 million from EUR78.5 million in the same period last year.

Fincantieri - up 1.4 percent - announced that it has signed a 10-year contract with the Armament Authority of the Ministry of Defense of the Arab Republic of Egypt for two Fremm units of In-Service Support and Integrated Logistic Support, i.e., preventive maintenance services, logistic studies and corrective maintenance on demand, worth about EUR260 million.

On the Small-Cap, Piquadro gave up 0.9 percent, after reporting Thursday that it closed the first half of its fiscal year with revenues up to EUR85.9 million from EUR80.2 million in the same period last year.

Immsi - in the red by 2.1 percent - reported that Intermarine, a group company, was awarded the tender called by the Ministry of the Interior for the supply of eight multi-purpose firefighting naval units that will be destined for the National Fire Department to cope with rescue activities at sea.

Banca Sistema--declining 0.5 percent--reported Thursday that Kruso Kapital, a group company, has signed a binding agreement with Banco Invest's current shareholders to purchase its pledged credit business in Portugal.

Kruso Kapital will recognize a consideration, including goodwill, of EUR11 million, subject to possible adjustment mechanisms at closing.

Aquafil closed up 3.6 percent. The company presented its 2023-2025 strategic plan on Tuesday, reporting, for the period, a forecast of growth in sales volumes.

However, for fiscal year 2023, in terms of volumes, a negative change of between 3 percent and 4 percent compared to the previous year is expected. Expected Ebitda for FY 2023 is in the range of EUR45-50 million while adjusted Ebitda from this effect is in the range of EUR68-70 million.

GPI, down 0.4, reported that the board of directors has selected a small number of investors interested in enhancing the value of its subsidiary Argentea.

SIT rose 8.5 percent after announcing Thursday that it has partnered with Panasonic to launch a new complete fan solution for residential heat pumps.

Among SMEs, Eprcomunication closed in a tie. Its subsidiary Justbit signed a digital consulting contract with "a multinational group."

The contract, which runs for two years from the signing and will thus continue until November 2025, has a total value of EUR243,900 and could be increased in light of additional client needs, the company says in a note.

Portobello--declining 4.5 percent--reported Thursday that the shareholders' meeting had decided to give the board of directors the authority to approve a capital increase of up to EUR20 million by issuing ordinary shares within five years.

In New York, the Dow is up 0.3 percent at 35,389.64, the Nasdaq falls 0.3 percent to 14,230.84 and the S&P 500 is just below par at 4,556.31.

Among currencies, the euro changes hands at USD1.0940 against USD1.0905 recorded at Thursday's European stock close, while the pound is worth USD1.2606 from USD1.2531 last night.

Among commodities, Brent crude is worth USD81.73 per barrel from USD80.97 per barrel at yesterday's close. Gold, on the other hand, trades at USD2,000.41 an ounce from USD1,991.65 an ounce Thursday evening.

Monday's macro calendar opens with Chinese corporate earnings, due at 0230 CET, followed by data on job seekers in France, at 1200 CET.

From the U.S., room for data on building permits, at 1400 CET, ahead of home sales data by two hours.

Among companies listed on the Milan Stock Exchange, no particular events are expected.

By Giuseppe Fabio Ciccomascolo, Alliance News senior reporter

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