Mib resists Iveco slump; eyes on Fed

(Alliance News) - Piazza Affari closed higher on Wednesday, just before the Federal Reserve announces its latest monetary policy decision, with markets expecting no change to rates.

Chris Beauchamp, Chief Market Analyst at IG, said, "Weakness in bond yields this afternoon gave traders a chance to push equities higher in anticipation of the Fed's latest decision. The U.S. shift to short-term debt helped lower yields, easing some of the pressure on equities, which have suffered thanks to the attractiveness of higher bond yields. Of course, the immediate future of the rally depends on what Powell says next but, for now, buyers are in control."

"The October U.S. ISM PMI may have been weaker but a lower-than-expected increase in inventories helped oil prices regain stability for now. A positive job opportunity figure is another sign of U.S. economic strength and thus strong demand for oil but, with the war in the Middle East still contained, it looks like upward pressure on oil prices will remain limited."

The FTSE Mib closed up 0.9 percent to 27,985.44, the Mid-Cap was up 0.8 percent to 38,704.92, the Small-Cap gained 0.6 percent to 24,509.14, and Italy Growth finished up 0.6 percent to 7,664.52.

In Europe, London's FTSE 100 closed up 0.3 percent, Paris' CAC 40 gained 0.7 percent and Frankfurt's DAX 40 rose 0.7 percent.

On the main list in Piazza Affari, good trades on Stellantis, which is up 1.9 percent to EUR17.94 per share. The company reported Tuesday that it reported a 7 percent year-on-year increase in third-quarter revenues to EUR45.1 billion.

The number of vehicles delivered was 11% higher than a year ago at 1.43 million, the Amsterdam-based automaker reported. For the first nine months, sales grew 10 percent year-on-year to EUR143.5 billion.

Purchases also on BPER Banca, up 2.3 percent to EUR3.1380 per share, following up on the previous three sessions ended among the bullish.

Best in the basket, however, are Nexi and Telecom Italia, up 4.0% and 3.7%, respectively.

The tail end of the list, however, is Iveco, which gave up 8.96 percent. The board reported Wednesday that it ended the third quarter with adjusted net income of EUR84 million, compared to EUR54 million in Q3 2022. Adjusted diluted earnings per share were EUR0.28, up EUR0.18 from Q3 2022. Consolidated revenues were EUR3.8 billion, up 6.7 percent.

Marked sales also on CNH Industrial, down 1.6% after eve's rise of 2.3%.

Enel--up 0.8%--reported Tuesday that it had purchased 479,787 of its own ordinary shares between October 23 and 27. The shares were taken over at an average unit price of EUR5.7318, for a total value of EUR2.8 million.

On the Mid-Cap, BFF Bank rose 2.5 percent, ending its fourth bullish session in a row.

Also among the best was Sanlorenzo, up 3.3 percent and rearing its head after two sessions in the red.

Carel Industries -- up 0.4 percent -- reported Tuesday that revenues for the first nine months rose 24 percent year-on-year to EUR497.2 million from EUR401.1 million in the same period a year earlier. Excluding the change in scope related to acquisitions of EUR52.1 million and the negative foreign exchange effect of EUR6.8 million, the increase would have been 13 percent.

Industrie de Nora, on the other hand, gave up 1.4 percent, priced at EUR13.14 per share after a 2.5 percent rise in the previous session.

Antares, on the other hand, lost 3.2 percent after a 2.5 percent gain in the eve.

On the Small-Cap, Bialetti closed at a parity at EUR0.27 per share while Softlab rose 6.4 percent instead. The stock - which has not detached its dividend since 2003 - rebounded after two bearish sessions in which it accumulated a loss of nearly 15 percent.

BasicNet - down 0.9 percent - reported Tuesday that its board of directors reviewed results for the first nine months, during which revenues grew 5.3 percent to EUR297.5 million from EUR282.6 million in the same period of 2022. Ebitda rose to EUR44.7 million from EUR44.1 million, a slight change to positive 1.3 percent.

Among SMEs, ESI - down 6.4 percent again, ending the fourth session in a row among the bearish.

NVP--up 0.7 percent--reported Tuesday that it reported revenues up 57 percent year-on-year to EUR19.5 million from EUR12.4 million in the first nine months. The scope of consolidation includes subsidiaries EG Audiovisivi Srl and Produzioni Italia Srl, the latter as of Sept. 14, 2023, which contributed revenues of EUR500,000, entirely generated in Italy.

In New York, the Dow is up 0.4 percent to 33,183.82, the Nasdaq is up 0.6 percent to 12,927.62, and the S&P 500 is up 0.5 percent to 4,213.84.

Among currencies, the euro changes hands at USD1.0542 against USD1.0662 recorded at Tuesday's European stock close, while the pound is worth USD1.2137 from USD1.2128 last night.

Among commodities, Brent crude is worth USD86.71 per barrel from USD88.00 per barrel at yesterday's close. Gold, on the other hand, trades at USD1,986.37 an ounce from USD1,998.95 an ounce last night.

Thursday's macroeconomic calendar features manufacturing PMIs from Spain, Italy, France, Germany, the Eurozone, and the UK between 0915 CET and 1030 CET, after French government budget data, due at 0845 CET.

Eyes also on Germany's employment, due at 0955 CET, and the Bank of England decision, due at 1300 CET.

In the afternoon, from the U.S., focus on U.S. durable goods and jobless claims, coming in at 1330 CET, and natural gas inventories, coming in at 1530 CET. The day will close with the Federal Reserve's balance sheet, due at 2130 CET.

By Giuseppe Fabio Ciccomascolo, Alliance News senior reporter

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