Futures bullish; World spotlight on Gaza.

(Alliance News) - European stock markets on Monday mark a bullish direction, according to the futures market, as fears of an escalation in the Middle East conflict grow.

"The world is now holding its breath as Israel prepares for a full-scale ground invasion of Gaza, with unseasonal torrential rains delaying the seemingly inevitable," Rabobank analysts noted.

More than a million people have fled their homes in Gaza amid scenes of chaos and despair as Israel bombards the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip and continues to mass troops Monday in preparation for a full-scale ground invasion.

The FTSE Mib, therefore, marks a rise of 42.50 points, after closing 0.8 percent in the red at 28,237.02 Friday evening.

In Europe, London's FTSE 100 advanced 28.00 points, Paris' CAC 40 advanced 16.30 points, and Frankfurt's DAX 40 marked a gain of 33.00 points.

Among the smaller listings on Friday, the Mid-Cap gave up 1.7 percent to 38,833.53, the Small-Cap closed 1.0 percent in the red to 25,261.66, while Italy Growth gave up 0.4 percent to 8,006.13.

On the main list of the Italian Stock Exchange on Friday evening, good buying on Eni, which closed bullish by 1.3%, with new price at EUR15.49 on the heels of eve's green with 1.4%.

Boost on BPER Banca, which advanced 0.7% bringing the price to EUR2.96 per share after eve's decline with 0.7%.

Tenaris, on the other hand, advanced 2.6 percent to EUR15.76 per share, on the heels of eve's 0.6 percent green and doing best of all in the bluechip list.

CNH Industrial -- down 0.8 percent to EUR11.24 -- confirmed Thursday evening that it intends to conclude the sixth tranche of its USD300 million buyback program, with additional purchases amounting to some USD21.8 million. The USD300 million buyback program had been announced on September 19, 2022, and was due to expire upon completion of purchases of up to USD300 million or by October 12, whichever came first.

Assicurazioni Generali -- up 0.7 percent in letters -- announced Thursday that it had reached an agreement with Allianz SE to sell TUA Assicurazioni Spa. "The transaction is in line with the implementation in Italy of the group's strategic plan, 'Lifetime Partner 24: Driving Growth,' which envisages pursuing profitable growth, reducing complexity with the aim of making the operating machine more efficient and increasing diversification in the Non-Life segment," the company said.

Banca Generali, on the other hand, gave up 4.5 percent, tacking down after three bearish sessions.

On the cadet segment, on a postive note was Ascopiave, which advanced with 1.7 percent after declining 1.2 percent on the eve of the day. The stock had previously come from three bearish sessions.

Barclays raised dil target price of Maire Tecnimont to EUR6.30 from EUR6.10. The stock closed trading in the green 1.4 percent to EUR4.69 per share.

Seco, on the other hand, left 8.3 percent on the parterre,with the stock trading high at around 1.3 million units traded compared to a three-month daily average of around 139,000.

Sales also on GVS, which closed down 5.5 percent, in its third session on the bearish side.

OVS--in the red by 3.0 percent--reported Thursday that it had bought back its own ordinary shares between Oct. 5 and Oct. 11 for a total consideration of EUR1.0 million. To date, the company holds 22.1 million of its own shares, or 7.6 percent of its share capital.

On the SmallCap segment, SIT left 5.4 percent on the parterre with new price at EUR2.83 per share. The stock in the day touched a 52-week low of EUR2.70.

Aquafil, on the other hand, closed down more than 10 percent at EUR2.25, with the stock touching its new low in the annual time frame at EUR2.24.

Bastogi contracted 3.5 percent, after Tuesday's 2.1 percent gain that followed two bearish sessions.

Boost on Abitare In, which rallied 2.8% to EUR5.18, on the heels of the eve's asset close of 1.0% green.

Also good was Servizi Italia, which closed up 3.2% in scial to Thursday's 3.3% green.

Among SMEs, good boost on Defence Tech Holding, which brought home a 4.0 percent gain after a 0.7 percent loss on eve.

Edil Sanfelice closed down 0.4% at EUR2.50, its third session in a row closed in the red.

CleanBnB -- in the money with 0.5 percent -- reported Thursday night that in the first nine months of the year it posted revenues of EUR31.1 million, up 57 percent from EUR19.8 million in the same period a year earlier. The total number of stays managed by CleanBnB in the first nine months thus amounted to 75,088, up 53 percent from 49,194 in the same period in 2022.

At the back of the pack, Casta Diva gave up 5.2 percent, with new price at EUR1.0 per share.

Ambromobiliare, on the other hand, closed down 4.1 percent, after a 4.9 percent green in the previous session.

In New York on Friday night, the Dow rallied 0.1 percent, the Nasdaq gave up 1.2 percent, and the S&P 500 left 0.5 percent on the parterre.

Among Asian exchanges, the Hang Seng is down 0.9 percent, the Shanghai Composite is giving up 0.6 percent, while the Nikkei closed down 2.0 percent.

Among currencies, the euro changes hands at USD1.0531 against USD1.0501 recorded in Friday's European stock close, while the pound is worth USD1.2164 from USD1.2134 on Friday evening.

Among commodities, Brent crude is worth USD90.46 per barrel from USD89.68 per barrel at Friday's close. Gold, meanwhile, trades at USD1,913.65 an ounce from USD1,921.41 an ounce on Thursday evening.

Monday's macroeconomic calendar, at 1000 CEST, incoming inflation from Italy. At 1100 CEST, it will be the turn of the Eurozone trade balance.

At 1730 CEST, in the US, an auction of three- and six-month Treasury bonds is scheduled while, at 2230 CEST, a speech by FOMC member Harker is scheduled.

On the corporate calendar in the Piazza Affari, no particular announcements are scheduled.

By Maurizio Carta, Alliance News reporter

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