(Alliance News) - On Wednesday, Piazza Affari opens just above par at 36,100, while Paris and Frankfurt do better than IG futures forecasts, on a day that is expected to be stingy with significant macroeconomic data.

Thus, the FTSE Mib is up 0.1 percent to 36,107.70, the Mid-Cap is up 0.1 percent to 48,860.83, the Small-Cap is in fractional red at 28,142.55 while Italy Growth is just below par at 7,813.52.

London's FTSE 100 is in the green by 0.2 percent, Paris' CAC 40 is up 0.4 percent, and Frankfurt's DAX 40 is up 0.8 percent.

On the highest-capitalization list of Piazza Affari, Prysmian does better than all at the opening and advances 1.7 percent.

The company has decided to abandon its project in Brayton Point, Massachusetts, to build a plant dedicated to the production of cables for offshore wind farms, Il Sole 24 Ore reports.

DiaSorin is in the green by 1.5 percent, after closing Tuesday's session at the top of the Mib.

Iveco Group, in the green by 1.3 percent, closes the podium. On the stock it is reported that Marshall Wace cut its short position up to 1.39 percent from 1.49 percent previously.

On Tuesday the company announced changes in the senior leadership team.

Snam - in the green by 0.8 percent - reported Wednesday that it had approved its new strategic plan to 2029, which features the largest investments in the company's history and amounts to EUR12.4 billion.

Eni -- up 0.1 percent -- is expecting non-binding bids in February for a stake of up to 49 percent in Enibioch4in, the six-legged dog's unit dedicated to biogas, operated by subsidiary Enilive, Il Sole 24 Ore reports.

UniCredit's takeover offer--down 0.3 percent--for Milan-based bank Banco BPM--up 0.2 percent--to is only a "starting point," CEO Andrea Orcel told Bloomberg on Tuesday.

UniCredit confirmed in November that it had made a share offer worth EUR10 billion for Italian rival Banco BPM, offering EUR0.175 UniCredit shares for each Banco BPM share.

Assicurazioni Generali--in fractional green--and BPCE announced Tuesday that they have signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding to create a joint venture between Generali Investments Holding and Natixis Investment Managers. The two companies will each hold 50 percent, with equally balanced governance and control rights. This will create a champion with EUR1.9 trillion in assets under management, ranking ninth globally and leading Europe in revenues with EUR4.1 billion.

Stellantis rises 0.6 percent at the open, following a 1.5 percent decline on the eve of the event. The company's December sales fell in Europe, performing opposite to the European market, where registrations rose 5.1 percent.

As data from ACEA, the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association, showed Tuesday, the merged giant of PSA Groupe and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles posted a 6.7 percent drop from December 2023 and market share fell to 11.6 percent in December from 12.9 percent in the same month a year earlier.

Among the bearish, Inwit gives up 0.6 percent, Saipem retreats 1.6 percent, and A2A leaves 1.9 percent on the parterre placing itself at the bottom of the list.

On the Mid-Cap, Safilo Group leads the early rises and advances 1.8%.

Banco di Desio e della Brianza -- unchanged at EUR7.84 per share -- announced Tuesday that it has signed an agreement with the European Investment Bank to finance innovative investments by Italian SMEs and midcaps.

The total credit line amounts to EUR200.0 million, with the aim of generating a total of EUR400.0 million in investments in the real economy.

Work intensifies on the merger between Rai Way--green by 0.5 percent--and EI Towers, 60 percent owned by the F2i fund and 40 percent by MFE-MediaForEurope--class A shares rising 0.5 percent and class B shares giving up 0.6 percent.

On the Small-Cap, Cellularline is in the green by 2.3 percent, following eve's red.

Datalogic - in the red by 0.5 percent - announced Tuesday that it has been awarded a contract worth more than EUR9 million and a major partnership with one of Europe's leading logistics operators, known for its significant presence in some of continental Europe's major parcel, postal and e-commerce countries.

Dexelance -- in the red by 0.3 percent -- reported Tuesday that its shareholders' meeting approved the engagement of EY to audit its sustainability reporting for fiscal years 2024-2026.

The assignment involves a fee of EUR59,500 for each financial year.

Gabetti Property Solutions - in the green by 1.1 percent - announced Tuesday that its board of directors has appointed Marco Speretta, former general manager, as a director by co-optation and new CEO.

Sabaf - in the green by 1.8 percent - announced Tuesday that it closed 2024 with normalized pre-consolidated sales revenues of EUR277 million, up 16 percent from the previous year.

Bestbe Holding's stock is suspended after a theoretical rise of 8.7 percent. The company on Tuesday reported that 61,793 new shares with the same characteristics and rights as the already outstanding shares were issued to bondholder Tenet Securities, resulting from the partial conversion of a total of 18 convertible bonds.

Among the SMEs, Xenia Hôtellerie Solution - in the green by 2.8 percent - presented on Wednesday its business plan to 2028 and its preliminary results for 2024, which saw turnover for the year stand at EUR57.2 million, registering a 14 percent increase from EUR50.2 million in 2023.

Ebitda was EUR2.5 million, down 46% year-on-year, a result impacted by extraordinary costs related to M&A and corporate reorganization.

Maps - up 0.3 percent - announced that it has been chosen by the Municipality of Velletri, in the province of Rome, to supply GZOOM VALUE GOVERNANCE, a solution developed by the Maps ESG Business Unit. The contract worth more than EUR100,000, has a three-year term.

TMP Group - in the green by 1.8 percent - on Tuesday reported that it has signed a contract worth about EUR1.2 million to work alongside the Japanese office of a well-known international experience company to design and build a country pavilion in EXPO Osaka 2025.

Askoll EVA - up 6.2 percent - on Tuesday announced that it has appointed Lerrj Piazza as Sales & Marketing Director.

Borsa Italiana announced Tuesday that as of Wednesday, Jan. 22, no limit order entry will be allowed on the common stock of Netweek - a stock suspended on the smallcap.

In Asia, the Nikkei closed up 1.6 percent at 39,646.25, the Shanghai Composite finished 0.9 percent in the red at 3,213.62, and the Hang Seng closed up 1.8 percent at 19,748.27.

In New York last night, the Dow advanced 1.2 percent, the Nasdaq closed in the green by 0.6 percent, and the S&P 500 up 0.9 percent.

Among currencies, the euro changed hands at USD1.0419 against USD1.0414 at Tuesday's European equities close. In contrast, the pound is worth USD1.2323 from USD1.2317 on Tuesday evening.

Among commodities, Brent crude is worth USD79.02 per barrel from USD79.47 per barrel at Tuesday's European stock close. Gold trades at USD2,766.41 an ounce from USD2,742.36 an ounce last night.

On Wednesday's economic calendar, at 1100 CET the Spanish consumer confidence index is expected while at 1300 CET US mortgage data will come out.

At 1600 CET the US predictive index will come out while at 2230 CET weekly oil stocks are expected.

At Piazza Affari, the results of Grifal are expected.

By Antonio Di Giorgio, Alliance News reporter

Comments and questions to redazione@alliancenews.com

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