Bullish Futures; Mib Rebounds from 43,300 Mark

(Alliance News) - European stock markets are poised for a positive open on Wednesday, buoyed by a global risk-on sentiment and expectations of further rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve.

Investors remain focused on upcoming US employment and inflation data, as well as European PMI figures due later in the morning.

In Europe, attention also remains on the delicate negotiations between the US and Russia aimed at ending the conflict in Ukraine, although the latest round has not yielded significant progress.

The Mib, after closing up 0.2% at 43,354.83 last night, is indicated to open higher by 117.50 points.

Among the secondary indices on Tuesday, the Mid-Cap fell by 0.2% to 58,284.98, the Small-Cap gained 0.4% to 35,868.88, and the Italy Growth index rose 0.4% to 8,494.41.

Elsewhere in Europe, the FTSE 100 is expected to rise by 9.00 points, the CAC 40 is seen just above parity, while the DAX 40 is estimated to open up by 64.70 points.

At Piazza Affari last night, UniCredit--up 0.8%--announced on Tuesday it had purchased 1.0 million of its own ordinary shares at an average price of EUR63.1065 each, for a total value of EUR65.9 million.

Intesa Sanpaolo--up 0.5%--reported it had granted a EUR35 million loan to Yachtline 1618 Spa, a Pisa-based company specializing in the design and production of high-end furnishings for yachts and luxury residences.

According to an analysis this week by Claudio Guerrini of Evaluation.it, Italgas shares--down 0.1% on the day--continue to stand out for their stability. The stock has lower risk than the market average, with a beta below 1, confirming the solidity of its regulated and essentially monopolistic business. Italgas trades at a higher valuation both in terms of Price/Earnings ratio and Price/Book Value.

Iveco Group--up 0.5% at EUR18.60--announced that its IDV brand, specialized in defense and civil protection vehicles, will supply an additional 658 tactical-logistical trucks to the Italian Army, expanding the original contract signed in 2024 for 1,453 vehicles.

Lottomatica led gains, up 3.2%, while Saipem saw losses of 3.7%.

On the Mid-Cap, ERG announced it had reached, through its subsidiary Furukraft, a 10-year Power Purchase Agreement with Skellefteå Kraft, a Swedish municipal energy company and one of the country's leading electricity producers. ERG shares ended trading up 1.7%.

NewPrinces Group--up 6.7%--completed the acquisition of 100% of Carrefour Italia and its subsidiaries, following approval from the European Commission.

ENAV, up 1.7%, signed, as lead contractor, an agreement with Teledife--Information Technology, Telematics and Advanced Technologies Directorate of the Ministry of Defense--for the modernization, by 2032, of radar surveillance systems at six Italian Air Force operational bases: Grosseto, Trapani, Gioia del Colle, Istrana, Amendola, and Galatina.

The work will be carried out by a Temporary Business Grouping led by ENAV, with Techno Sky--wholly owned by ENAV--and Leonardo.

Cementir Holding--flat at EUR17.50--completed the sale of 100% of Kars Çimento's share capital to Arkoz Madencilik for a total enterprise value of EUR51 million on a cash and debt-free basis.

Banco Desio e Brianza gained 5.7%; Sanlorenzo saw losses of 2.9%.

On the Small-Cap, Brioschi Sviluppo Immobiliare--down 0.3%--announced, following last week's communication, that its subsidiary Milanofiori Sviluppo had sold all 73,769 units still held in the Fleurs Fund to certain institutional professional investors.

BasicNet--down 1.6%--completed the acquisition of the rights to the Woolrich brand for Europe and 100% of Woolrich Europe, the company responsible for its distribution and retail.

EPH dropped 9.3% to EUR0.378 per share; La Centrale del Latte d'Italia gained 7.7% to EUR5.60.

Among SMEs, ErreDue--up 5.5%--announced it had signed an agreement with JMG Cranes--a global leader in the design and production of battery-powered electric self-propelled cranes--for the supply of a 1 MW green hydrogen production plant.

Circle, down 0.3%, announced Tuesday that its subsidiary eXyond had secured the final award in the tender issued by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport--Directorate General for Road Safety and Road Transport--for the provision of functional support services for the CCISS--Viaggiare Informati system.

GM Leather, down 4.4%, reported that its board had resolved to propose to the extraordinary shareholders' meeting a capital increase of up to EUR4.5 million, including share premium.

Culti Milano, closing down 2.7%, sold its remaining 22.1% stake in Bakel Spa to majority shareholder MGB, linked to founder Raffaella Gregoris.

ESI, down 1.4%, completed its first owned plant, "La Cava," located in Monterosi, Viterbo. The plant, with a capacity of 3 MWp and developed through the vehicle company La Cava Srl, wholly owned by ESI, is the first step in the 20 MWp pipeline ESI aims to develop as an IPP over the next three years, as the company stated in a note.

In New York last night, the Dow Jones gained 0.4%, the Nasdaq closed up 0.6%, while the S&P 500 added 0.3%.

In Asian markets, the Nikkei rose 1.1%, the Hang Seng fell 1.2%, while the Shanghai Composite lost 0.5%.

On the currency front, the euro is trading at USD1.1651 from USD1.1606 at Tuesday's equities close, while the pound is at USD1.3251 from USD1.3195 last night.

Among commodities, Brent crude is trading at USD62.69 per barrel from USD63.28 at last night's close, while gold is valued at USD4,207.75 an ounce from USD4,178.74 an ounce last night.

On Wednesday's economic calendar, at 10:30 CET, service and composite PMIs for Spain, Italy, France, Germany, the Eurozone, and the UK will be released.

The Eurozone producer price index is expected at 11:00 CET, while from 13:00 CET attention will shift to US mortgage data, followed at 14:30 CET by US import-export cost data.

Also at 14:30 CET, a new speech by Christine Lagarde is scheduled, with another intervention at 16:30 CET.

In between, from 16:00 CET, US labor market data will be published.

No significant announcements are expected from Piazza Affari.

By Maurizio Carta, Alliance News Reporter

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