(Alliance News) - Trading on Tuesday was cautious, just hours before the Federal Reserve's decision to cut interest rates by 25 basis points following the release of US labor market data, which was considered fragile.

Traders, on the other hand, estimate a 92% chance that the European Central Bank will move to confirm rates, compared to its overseas counterpart.

The MIB ended trading up 0.3% at 43,574.50 points, the Mid-Cap rose 0.2% to 58,671.54, the Small-Cap rose 0.1% to 36,114.29, and the Italy Growth fell 0.5% to 8,450.79 points.

Other markets were mixed, with Paris' CAC 40 down 0.7%, London's FTSE 100 slightly negative at 9,641.10 points, and Frankfurt's DAX 40 up 0.5%.

Chris Beauchamp of IG commented: "The 48 hours before a Fed decision are rarely a good time to make short-term investment decisions. The week so far has been indecisive at best, but early trading in the US has seen some tentative buying."

"Trump's decision to allow Nvidia to sell its most sophisticated chips to China gave the stock a boost overnight, but that rebound is fading. Meanwhile, Hassett, Trump's pick for the Fed, gave his all for the US economy, but it seems that investors prefer to focus on the current Fed chairman, at least until after tomorrow's decision," the analyst concluded.

On the Milan Stock Exchange, the impasse over the conflict between Russia and Ukraine gave strength to Leonardo, in line with the performance of defense stocks, which was up 2.6% to EUR49.46 per share. The company completed the key test of the Michelangelo system.

There were also good purchases in the banking sector, recently boosted by Fitch's rating upgrade. Banca Mediolanum, Generali, and BPER Banca posted gains of 3.3%, 3.0%, and 1.4%, respectively.

Monte dei Paschi di Siena, up 1.3%, accelerated on Mediobanca. The board of directors confirmed its confidence in CEO Luigi Lovaglio and decided to bring forward the presentation of the business plan for the merger with Mediobanca, in which Siena holds an 86.3% stake. The project will be presented to the market and sent to the ECB by the beginning of March, about a month ahead of schedule.

Plenitude, a subsidiary of Eni, up 0.3%, inaugurated the new Caparacena photovoltaic plant in Chimeneas and Ventas de Huelma, in the province of Granada, one of the company's most important projects in Spain. Eni, among other things, has discovered a major gas field in Indonesia.

The Azimut group, up 1.9%, recorded net inflows of EUR 889 million in November, of which EUR 705 million (79%) was allocated to managed solutions. The figure since the beginning of the year stands at EUR 18.0 billion, in line with the full-year target of between EUR 28 and EUR 31 billion.

In the mid-cap segment, Avio gained 3.1% after signing two production orders with the MBDA group in recent days, as part of the existing framework agreement, for the supply of propulsion engines and related aerodynamic surfaces for air defense systems, worth a total of more than EUR 35 million.

Anima Holding - with purchases of 0.4% - announced that net inflows into asset management in November were negative by EUR 1.15 billion, while since the beginning of the year they have been positive by EUR 3.37 billion. Total inflows into asset management in November were negative by EUR 2.55 billion. Since the beginning of the year, they have been positive by EUR 80 million.

Banca Generali - up 1.4% - reported net inflows of EUR 649 million in November, up 27% compared to the same period last year.

MFE-MediaForEurope NV announced on Tuesday that RadioMediaset had expanded its network with the acquisition of Radio Norba. Class A and Class B shares fell by 0.7% each.

Technoprobe, down 1.5%, entered into a strategic agreement with WinWay Technology Co, a leading supplier of IC test interfaces listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, and MS Sun Technology Company, a Taiwanese distribution company, to grant WinWay Technology Co., Ltd. the right to use proprietary TPEG technology for the development of testing solutions.

In the Small-Cap segment, Ops eCom, down 3.7%, took a new step in its plan to expand the company's business to express transport and logistics. The company signed a preliminary agreement to acquire 100% of the share capital of KCT, a Galliate-based company operating in road freight transport.

EPH closed the basket with marked sales of 24%, while the best purchases were recorded on Netweek, up 26%.

Among SMEs, Spindox - not affected by trading - announced that it had appointed Enrico Zilio as its new Chief Financial Officer, effective December 1.

Circle, down 0.3%, announced on Tuesday that it had been awarded the SEAMLESS (Smart Environmental and Mobility Logistics Enhanced by EO Satellite Systems) project as lead partner, based on the published ranking.

The project, which will last 18 months and has a total value of approximately EUR 840,000, provides for a non-repayable grant of over EUR 210,000 for Circle and over EUR 102,000 for Circle Garage.

Mare Group - down 0.5% - announced its initiatives regarding Eles, flat at EUR2.64 per share.

The company has requested the convening of an ordinary shareholders' meeting to propose the expansion of the board from six to nine members, introducing three independent directors and defining their term of office and remuneration.

Good purchases on Execus, up 18% to EUR 1.41 per share, with a gain of over 10 cents per share since the start of trading.

In New York, the Dow Jones rose 0.3%, the Nasdaq 0.1%, and the S&P 500 0.2%.

On the currency front, the euro traded at USD 1.1639 from USD 1.1623 at Monday's stock market close, while the pound traded at USD 1.3314 from USD 1.3314 last night.

Among commodities, Brent crude traded at USD61.98 per barrel from USD62.92 per barrel at yesterday evening's close, while gold was worth USD4,214.34 per ounce from USD4,194.76 per ounce yesterday evening.

On Wednesday's economic calendar, Italian industrial production data is expected at 1000 CET and the 12-month BOT auction is at 1110 CET.

At 1155 CET, the ECB president is scheduled to speak, while at 1300 CET, US mortgage data will be released. From 1430 CET, reports on the US labor market are expected. At 2000 CET, the Fed will announce its decision on interest rates.

On the Italian stock exchange, results are expected from Homizy, Netweek, and OPS Italia.

By Michele Cirulli, Alliance News Reporter

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