(Alliance News) - European equity futures signal a slightly lower open for Thursday's session, despite the Federal Reserve implementing a rate cut and delivering a less hawkish outlook than markets had anticipated. Additionally, the Fed announced it would begin monthly purchases of approximately USD45 billion in short-term Treasury bills, with maturities of up to three years.
Among other central banks, the Swiss National Bank is expected to keep its policy rate unchanged at 0%, while the European Central Bank is also widely anticipated to maintain a hold on rates through 2026, as inflation and growth trends remain broadly in line with estimates.
The Mib - which closed down 0.3% at 43,465.34 on Wednesday - is currently showing a decline of 62.50 points.
Paris's CAC 40 is just above parity, Frankfurt's DAX 40 is down 35.90 points, while London's FTSE 100 is posting a 10.00-point drop.
Among the secondary indices, last night the Mid-Cap fell 0.6% to 58,326.21, the Small-Cap gained 0.1% to 36,131.82, and Italy Growth slipped 0.3% to 8,422.72 points.
On the Milan Stock Exchange, Lottomatica shares climbed to the top, gaining 2.5% to EUR21.78 per share.
The board of Monte dei Paschi - down 0.5% - will meet on December 18 for its final regular session of the year, an opportunity to review the progress of the twenty ongoing projects related to business integration with Mediobanca, which rose 0.3%.
UniCredit, meanwhile, continues its rapid exit from Moscow. The group led by Andrea Orcel is reported to have sold the entire long-term portfolio of its subsidiary UniCredit-Leasing to Russia's Pr-Leasing, amounting to contracts worth RUB3 billion, equivalent to EUR34 million. The stock gained 1.6%.
Stellantis - up 0.7% - is pivoting towards autonomous driving with a new agreement, while facing industrial challenges related to the Stla Small platform for compact cars, originally designed by PSA as an electric base and put on hold for six months in 2024 under Carlos Tavares's management.
Telecom Italia, which slipped 0.4%, announced that independent director Umberto Paolucci will resign from the board effective January 1, 2026, for professional reasons.
Ferrari, which set a new 52-week low at EUR313.50 per share, closed down 4.4%, marking the day's worst performance.
On the Mid-Cap, Credito Emiliano, up 0.1%, announced that, following board resolutions, it has executed the partial demerger of Euromobiliare Advisory SIM, effective January 1, 2026, in favor of Credito Emiliano and Euromobiliare Asset Management SGR.
Banca Ifis has signed an agreement to acquire the 50% stake in Hype previously held by illimity Bank, with the stake transferring to Banca Sella.
The deal involves a consideration of EUR85 million and is expected to provide Banca Ifis with a capital benefit estimated at around 55 basis points on the CET1 ratio. The stock saw a 2.1% decline.
Intercos advanced 4.0%, while BFF Bank slumped 9.5% after independent sustainability rating agency Standard Ethics improved the bank's outlook from 'stable' to 'positive', confirming its corporate Standard Ethics Rating at 'EE-'.
On the Small-Cap, Fidia - flat at EUR0.1140 per share - announced that Global Growth Holding Limited requested the conversion of 10 bonds from the convertible bond loan with warrants reserved for GGHL. The conversion price was EUR0.10 per share, resulting in the issuance of a total of 1.0 million Fidia shares to GGHL. Fidia's share capital will increase by EUR100,000, bringing it to EUR9.2 million, with the total number of shares rising to 23.8 million.
BF announced Tuesday that non-executive director and member of the Nominations and Remuneration Committee Riccardo Bovino has resigned from the board, effective December 6, due to "unexpected personal commitments."
Eurotech saw solid buying, up 4.2%, while the sharpest losses were recorded by Netweek, which fell 14%.
Among SMEs, Più Medical signed a binding term sheet with the IPO Club 2 fund - managed by Azimut Investments S.A. with Electa Ventures as partner and strategic advisor - for a P.I.P.E. investment to support the company's previously approved capital increase. The fund will invest a total of EUR5 million, while the founding shareholders will contribute a total of 700,000 ordinary Più Medical shares. The stock gained 1.2%.
Maps, down 0.3%, announced that its subsidiary Maps Healthcare has secured the renewal of its agreement with the Emilia-Romagna Region for assistance, maintenance, and professional support for applications used by the region's healthcare companies.
The new three-year agreement is valued at up to approximately EUR11.8 million.
Mare Engineering Group - down 0.3% - has requested that Eles - down 0.4% - call a shareholders' meeting to expand the board of directors from six to nine members, introducing three independent directors to strengthen transparency in the company's management, which is currently the subject of two competing takeover bids.
Tenax International saw strong buying, up 11% to EUR1.517 per share. At the bottom of the table, Estrima suffered double-digit losses, down 14%.
In New York, during the European evening, the Dow Jones gained 1.1%, the Nasdaq advanced 0.3%, and the S&P 500 rose 0.7%.
In Asia, the Nikkei fell 0.9%, the Shanghai Composite closed down 0.7%, and the Hang Seng slipped 0.1%.
On the currency front, the euro is trading at USD1.1692 from USD1.1648 at Wednesday's close, while the pound is at USD1.3370 from USD1.3333 last night.
Among commodities, Brent is trading at USD61.87 per barrel from USD61.48 at last night's close, while gold stands at USD4,212.45 per ounce from USD4,201.38 per ounce yesterday evening.
On Thursday's economic calendar, Italian unemployment data will be released at 1000 CET.
At 1050 CET, Bank of England Governor Bailey is scheduled to speak, and at 1130 CET there will be a three-year BTP auction.
At 1200 CET, the Italian Thomson Reuters IPSOS index is due, and at 1300 CET the OPEC monthly report will be released.
The Federal Reserve's balance sheet is expected at 2230 CET.
On the Milan Stock Exchange, results from Abitare In are expected.
By Maurizio Carta, Alliance News Reporter
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