(Alliance News) - European stock markets Friday are set for a bullish opening, with only London just below the parity line and with PiazzaAffairs in its main index restarting from a base of 32,300 points.

The crisis in China's real estate sector does not seem to be stopping. New home prices fell 0.7 percent year-on-year January, stronger than the previous month's 0.4 percent drop. This was the seventh consecutive month of decline and the steepest pace since March 2023, despite the central government stepping up efforts to mitigate the impact of a prolonged real estate recession coupled with a fragile economic recovery.

Thus, the FTSE Mib, after closing in the green by 1.1 percent at 32,356.26, is up 35.00 points.

In Europe, London's FTSE 100 is moving just below parity, Frankfurt's DAX 40 is advancing 21.50 points, and Paris' CAC 40 is advancing 8.00 points.

Among the smaller lists last night, the Mid-Cap gained 0.6 percent to 45,831.59, the Small-Cap rose 1.6 percent to 27,966.73, and Italy Growth closed up 0.6 percent to 8,175.03.

On the Mib last night, Tenaris led the rises with a 7.3 percent gain after announcing results for the fourth quarter and the year ended Dec. 31, a year that ended with a 5 percent increase in revenues on a sequential basis, "supported by a high level of shipments to the Middle East and for offshore pipeline projects," the company wrote in the note. Total sales for 2023 were USD14.86 billion from USD11.76 billion in the previous year. Ebitda was USD4.86 billion from USD3.64 billion in FY 2022.

Banco BPM, up 4.1 percent, and Amplifon, up 3.3 percent, also did well.

Ferrari also gained momentum - up 3.1 percent - after it announced Thursday its new global partnership with L'OR Espresso, a brand of JDE Peet's group, a leading global coffee and tea company.

On the bottom went the energy sector, with Italgas, Terna and Snam, in the red between 1.9% and 1.2%.

Recordati, among the bearish, gave up 0.8 percent after it reviewed and approved its preliminary consolidated results for fiscal 2023, which closed with a net profit of EUR389.2 million, up 25 percent from 2022, driven by strong operating performance and lower nonrecurring costs compared to 2022. This figure, moreover, has a revenue margin of about 19 percent.

Consolidated net revenues in 2023 were EUR2.08 billion up 12 percent from 2022, in line with the upper end of the guidance range revised upward last May, thanks to "excellent business performance in both the Specialty & Primary Care and Rare Diseases segments, which continue to post double-digit growth, at constant exchange rates," the note said.

On the cadet segment, Brembo - in the green by 0.7 percent - announced Thursday that it has opened its first production site in Thailand.

The investment of about EUR40 million reflects the group's strategy to expand its industrial presence globally and allows Brembo to seize new growth opportunities in Southeast Asia, the company explained in a note.

Maire Tecnimont rose 2.4 percent after it announced Wednesday that NextChem, through its subsidiary NextChem Tech, has signed a binding agreement to acquire 80 percent of HyDEP Srl and 100 percent of Dragoni Group Srl.

The purchase price for the two shares is approximately EUR3.6 million.

Ariston Holding -- in the green by 1.7 percent -- on Thursday announced that it has finalized an agreement to acquire a production site located in the industrial park of the October 6 municipality near Cairo, Egypt, from Universal Group, a historic Egyptian manufacturing company founded by Youssri Kotb.

Among smallcaps, Mondo TV rose 2.9 percent after it reported Thursday the conclusion of three major deals that confirm the positive phase in the distribution of its library.

TXT e-solutions gained 4.2 percent after announcing Thursday that it had revenues of EUR224 million as of December 31, up about 48 percent from EUR150.8 million in 2022. On a like-for-like basis, revenues grew by about 12 percent and acquisitions contributed about EUR56 million. Total international revenues accounted for about 20 percent of total revenues in 2023, the company says.

Ebitda was about EUR31.5 million or 14 percent of revenues, up about 42 percent from ER22.3 million in 2022.

Among SMEs, Matica Fintec rose 5.1 percent after it reported its preliminary unaudited consolidated results as of Dec. 31 on Thursday, reporting a net profit of EUR2.2 million, up from EUR2.6 million as of Dec. 31, 2022.

Vimi Fasteners - in the red by 0.6 percent, reported Wednesday that it reported revenues of EUR61.3 million in 2023, up 15 percent from EUR53.3 million as of Dec. 31, 2022.

The Vimi group's order backlog as of Dec. 31 also increased, covering the full year 2024 and amounting to EUR39.2 million, up from EUR37.7 million in backlog at the end of 2022.

In New York overnight Europe, the Dow closed in the green by 1.2 percent, the Nasdaq advanced 3.0 percent, and the S&P 500 closed up 2.1 percent.

Among currencies, the euro changed hands at USD1.0830 against USD1.0814 recorded in Thursday's European stock close, while the pound was worth USD1.2665 from USD1.2643 on Thursday evening.

Brent crude is worth USD83.25 per barrel versus USD83.52 per barrel at Thursday's close. Gold, meanwhile, trades at USD2,021.04 an ounce from USD2,030.75 an ounce on Thursday evening.

Friday's macroeconomic calendar includes from Germany, at 1000 CET, German business expectations and the ifo index on business confidence in Germany.

At 1100 CET is the Eurogroup meeting, and at 1110 CET an auction of Italian CTZs with a maturity of 2 years.

Among the companies listed in Piazza Affari, the results of Alkemy, Generalfinance and Sogefi are expected.

By Maurizio Carta, Alliance News reporter

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