Mib Holds Above 42,600 as Oil Sector Drives Index

(Alliance News) - On Wednesday, major European stock markets opened in negative territory--except for Frankfurt's DAX--as ongoing concerns about a tech sector bubble continued to weigh heavily on recent market performances.

The FTSE Mib slipped 0.5% to 42,612.12, the Mid-Cap dropped 0.4% to 56,429.98, and the Small-Cap also lost 0.4% to 34,621.25, while the Italy Growth index edged up 0.1% to 8,343.37.

London's FTSE 100 was fractionally down at 9,549.35, Paris' CAC 40 fell 0.2%, while Frankfurt's DAX 40 gained 0.1%.

On the macroeconomic front, the annual consumer price inflation rate fell to 3.6% in October from 3.8% in September. The figure matched the consensus cited by FXStreet and reinforced the Bank of England's view that inflation has peaked.

This data could pave the way for the Bank of England to resume interest rate cuts. Threadneedle Street has kept the base rate at 4.00% for the last two meetings, after cutting it in February, May, and August.

On the Mib, the oil sector led the way, with Tenaris topping the board with a 2.2% gain. Saipem also advanced, up 1.0%. Inwit rounded out the top three, rising 0.7%.

Eni rose 0.4%. The company announced on Tuesday that its subsidiary Plenitude had signed an agreement to acquire from Neoen--a leading renewable energy company--a portfolio of 52 operational assets, including 37 solar plants, 14 wind farms, and one operational battery, totaling approximately 760 MW of installed capacity across France.

The assets generate about 1.1 TWh of electricity annually.

Diasorin, up 0.5%, and Qiagen launched the new Liaison QuantiFeron-Tb Gold Plus II test with CE marking, boosting hourly analysis capacity by 75% and reducing response times for tuberculosis diagnosis by 25%.

The collaboration between the two companies has been ongoing since 2017.

Among the decliners were Enel, down 1.5%, UniCredit, falling 1.2%, and Amplifon, down 0.9%.

In the Mid-Cap segment, as reported by the ECB, Credem--up 0.1%--remains Italy's strongest bank, ranking among the top three in Europe and second among European commercial banks, consolidating a long-held leadership position.

The recognition centers on the Pillar 2 Requirement, set at 1.25%, highlighting the ECB's supervisory confidence in the bank's ability to manage risks not fully covered by minimum requirements.

Tamburi and d'Amico were also in positive territory, rising 3.0% and 1.6% respectively.

SOL dropped 0.4%. On Monday, the company announced that its wholly owned subsidiary AIRSOL and Green Flame Gas Co, owned by the Kuwaiti Al-Qattan family, have established VIVISOL Kuwait.

The new joint venture, 51% owned by AIRSOL and 49% by Green Flame Gas Co, has opened its headquarters in Kuwait City.

PharmaNutra fell 1.3% after announcing on Monday that it had been ranked 190th in the "World's Best Companies - Sustainable Growth 2026" list published by U.S. weekly Time, which identifies the 500 best-performing companies in sustainable development.

On the Small-Cap, Elica dropped 0.9%. The company reported on Monday it had purchased 51,400 of its own ordinary shares for a total value of EUR89,600.

As of today, the company holds 4.7 million treasury shares, accounting for 7.4% of its share capital.

Somec opened up 2.1%. The company reported on Monday consolidated revenues of EUR271.1 million for the first nine months of the year, up 1.3% at constant exchange rates and slightly ahead of the EUR270 million reported as of September 30, 2024.

This performance was mainly driven by the Mestieri division, up 17%, and Talenta, which grew by 4.2%.

Among SMEs, TMP Group was flat at EUR6.50 per share. The company announced on Tuesday that it had launched a training project commissioned by Learn International and aimed at University of Florida students, focusing on communication, media, and sports marketing.

From January to April 2026, the group will develop and coordinate an academic and professional program for ten university students, integrating theory, practice, and field activities tied to major sporting events in Italy in 2026.

Smart Capital--not trading--announced on Tuesday the launch of a rights issue of around EUR8 million, approved on November 11.

The transaction will involve issuing up to 4.8 million new Smart Capital shares, without nominal value, offered to shareholders at a ratio of 55 new shares for every 337 held, at a subscription price of EUR1.65, of which EUR1 will be allocated to capital and EUR0.65 to share premium.

ICF Group rose 3.5%. The company said Tuesday it closed the first nine months of the year with revenues of EUR54.1 million, down from EUR57.6 million as of September 30, 2024.

EBITDA for the nine months stood at EUR7.2 million, up from EUR7.0 million in 2024, with an EBITDA margin of 13.3% versus 12.2%.

Circle fell 1.6%. The company reported on Monday that nine-month production value rose 80% year-on-year to EUR18.2 million from EUR10.1 million in the same period last year.

Revenues from Proprietary Software products climbed to EUR6.2 million from EUR2.7 million, while those from Milos Federative Services rose to EUR2 million from EUR800,000.

The group's multi-year backlog, based on management data and visibility through 2026, stood at EUR33.4 million as of September 30, up from EUR31 million at June 30.

In Asia, the Nikkei closed down 0.3% at 48,537.70, the Shanghai Composite gained 0.2% to 3,946.74, and the Hang Seng lost 0.4% to 25,830.65.

In New York, the Dow closed Tuesday down 1.1% at 46,091.74, the Nasdaq lost 1.2% to 22,432.85, and the S&P 500 dropped 0.8% to 6,617.32.

On the currency front, the euro traded at USD1.1577 from USD1.1574 at Tuesday's European close, while the pound exchanged at USD1.3133 from USD1.3139 last night.

Among commodities, Brent was trading at USD64.39 per barrel from USD64.11 at Tuesday's close, while gold was valued at USD4,084.54 an ounce from USD4,065.21 an ounce on Tuesday evening.

Wednesday's economic calendar features Eurozone inflation data at 1100 CET.

At 1200 CET, Spain will release its consumer confidence index.

At 1300 CET, U.S. mortgage data will be published, followed at 1430 CET by the U.S. trade balance, and at 1515 CET by September's industrial production figures.

Among companies listed on Piazza Affari, MFE-MediaForEurope's results are expected.

By Claudia Cavaliere, Alliance News reporter

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