European markets mixed but cautious, Mib in the green

(Alliance News) - On Monday, the main European stock markets closed with mixed results, but nevertheless cautiously.

The Eurozone manufacturing sector showed a new, albeit modest, sign of improvement in October. The manufacturing PMI stood at 50.0 points, up from 49.8 in September, reaching its highest level in two months.

In Italy - 49.9 points in October compared to 49.0 points in September - the manufacturing economy was generally stable.

As a result, the MIB closed up 0.1% at 43,233.00 points, the Mid-Cap ended slightly positive at 57,589.93, the Small-Cap fell 0.4% to 36,215.12, and the Italy Growth was up 0.1% to 8,682.21 points.

The CAC 40 in Paris fell 0.1%, the DAX 40 in Frankfurt gained 0.6%, and the FTSE 100 in London fell 0.2%.

Chris Beauchamp, Chief Market Analyst at IG, noted: "A degree of fatigue is creeping into Wall Street sentiment, despite the strong performance so far in the earnings season. OpenAI's deal with Amazon helped, but you can't have surprises like that every day. With volatility returning, it looks like stocks could be in for a bumpier ride."

Instead, "The FTSE 100," the analyst concluded, "continues to slide, having lost the positive momentum provided by last week's losses in the pound against the dollar."

On the Milan Stock Exchange, utilities supported the index with bullish performances of 7.2% for A2A, which reached its annual high of EUR2.67 per share, and 2.3% for Italgas.

Leonardo performed well with purchases of 2.4% at EUR52.08 per share.

UniCredit, which is preparing to leave Russia as requested by the Italian government and the ECB, has launched a strategic partnership with IvyDecarb to accelerate the decarbonization of the Italian textile sector—a key driver of the economy—and strengthen the resilience of the supply chain. The stock gained 0.4%.

The Campari earthquake, with the Guardia di Finanza seizing shares worth EUR 1.29 billion from Lagfin, the Luxembourg holding company of Chairman Luca Garavoglia, which controls 51.8% of the spirits group, led to daily sales of 2.4%.

Intesa Sanpaolo, down 0.5%, completed the merger by incorporation of First Bank into its subsidiary Intesa Sanpaolo Bank Romania.

Nexi, down 1.4%, and Zucchetti expanded their strategic partnership to offer integrated payment solutions to the retail and hospitality sectors.

STMicroelectronics, down 0.1%, was not driven by the EUR7.5 million buyback.

Among the day's losers were Amplifon, down 1.8% to EUR14.54 per share, and Telecom Italia, which fell 2.3% to EUR0.4993 per share.

On the Mid-Cap, Tamburi bought back shares worth around EUR610,000, but the stock was down 1.0%.

On October 23, Avio shareholders approved a EUR400 million capital increase, with the possibility of adding another EUR160 million within five years. The company, which manufactures the Vega-C space launch vehicle and rocket engines for defense, will invest 80% of the proceeds in the construction of a factory in the US, where it will manufacture engines for the US Army and US Navy.

The remaining 20% will be used to boost European production. The stock gained 2.0%.

Alerion Clean Power, down 2.2%, completed the acquisition of 100% of Milestone Wind Farm, a company that owns a 14.4 MW onshore wind farm located in County Tipperary, Ireland, through its subsidiary.

BFF Bank managed to stay ahead with purchases of 4.2% at EUR10.90 per share, while among the most notable sales was Salvatore Ferragamo, which fell 1.9% to EUR6.85 per share.

In the small-cap sector, Alantra left its 'buy' recommendation on Trevi unchanged, raising the target price to EUR0.60 from EUR0.50. In fact, Friday's double-digit decline does not seem to have scared analysts. The stock was still down 2.6%.

Antares Vision, up 0.6%, will present its new innovative tracking solution for managing the logistics of reusable assets in global supply chains at the Cosmetic 360 event on October 16-17.

Sabaf, which completed a EUR1.7 million buyback plan and announced a new one for up to EUR3.0 million, ended the session flat at EUR14.00.

Banca Profilo, flat at EUR0.16 per share, announced that Paola Santarelli has resigned from the board of the credit institution due to work commitments.

Dexelance and BasicNet's buyback programs of EUR 45,000 and EUR 302,000 respectively led to the stocks closing flat at EUR 6.10 and up 0.6%.

Among SMEs, Datrix, up 4.0%, announced on Monday its participation in the Artibac project, funded by the Lombardy Region as part of the ERDF 2021-2027 Collaborate & Innovate program.

Com.Tel and Forerunner Technologies Inc. strengthened their partnership for the distribution of InForm Voice: the subsidiary Com.Tel International will distribute the solution in Asia Pacific and India, expanding its reach into new markets. The stock benefited by 1.3%.

Italian Wine Brands, which fell 0.4%, announced that until December 31 of this year, Grande Alberone wines will be served on Italo trains and in the lounges of the Milan, Florence, Rome, and Bologna stations.

Noteworthy is the bullish performance of TMP Group, which rose by double digits to 11%.

For Nusco, with preliminary nine-month revenues down to EUR 37.1 million compared to EUR 37.8 million in the same period of 2024, the session ended with a positive balance of 4.9%.

In New York, the Dow Jones is down 0.4%, the Nasdaq is up 0.3%, and the S&P 500 is slightly positive at 6,841.73 points.

On the currency front, the euro traded at USD 1.1528 from USD 1.1537 at Friday's stock market close, while the pound traded at USD 1.3145 from USD 1.3134 on Friday evening.

Among commodities, Brent crude is trading at USD65.03 per barrel, up from USD64.29 per barrel at Friday evening's close, while gold is worth USD3,999.41 per ounce, up from USD3,996.39 per ounce on Friday evening.

On Tuesday's economic calendar, ECB President Christine Lagarde is scheduled to speak at 0840 CET, and French car registration and government budget data are due at 0845 CET.

The Spanish unemployment situation will be assessed at 0900 CET, while at 1100 CET there will be a new intervention by ECB leaders.

BoE's Breeden is scheduled to speak at 1400 CET, while US imports and exports will be assessed starting at 1430 CET.

At 1800 CET, Italian car registration data will be released, while the US oil inventory report is scheduled for 2230 CET.

On the Italian stock exchange, nine-month results are expected from Anima Holding, Generali, BPER Banca, DiaSori, Leonardo, Mediobanca, Telecom Italia, Snam, and other companies.

By Michele Cirulli, Alliance News Reporter

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