(Alliance News) - On Friday, the Mib closed bullish, settling around 34,600, after three consecutive sessions closed with a negative balance. The bullish move follows the positive performance of all European stock markets, transcended by the banking sector, which dominated in the top positions of the bluechip list.

Among the day's macro data, the U.S. unemployment rate stood at 4.1 percent in October, remaining unchanged from the previous month's three-month low and aligning with market expectations. The data were released Friday by the U.S. Labor Statistics.

The FTSE Mib rose 1.2 percent to 34,676.17, the Mid-Cap rallied 0.2 percent to 46,163.08, the Small-Cap advanced 0.1 percent to 28,078.16, and Italy Growth closed in the green 0.2 percent to 7,937.01.

Paris' CAC 40 advanced 0.8 percent, Frankfurt's DAX 40 closed up 0.9 percent, and London's FTSE 100 rose 0.8 percent.

On the largest-capitalization list, UniCredit closed on top, up 3.6 percent and updating its new 52-week high to EUR42.12, after Fitch upgraded its rating to BBB+.

The agency also changed the outlook from stable to positive, with the rating now one notch above Italy's sovereign rating, the newspaper continued. According to Fitch, this result reflects exceptional strength relative to domestic peers, supported by effective diversification into performing or growing economies.

Also doing well was Intesa Sanpaolo -- in the green by 2.5 percent -- after the board on Thursday approved its consolidated interim report for the nine months ended September 30, closing the period with net income up 17 percent to EUR7.2 billion from EUR6.1 billion in the first nine months of 2023. The board also approved the distribution of EUR0.17 per share as an interim dividend for 2024. The total is about EUR3.0 billion.

Banco BPM rallied 2.6 percent to EUR6.35 per share, on the heels of the eve's rise of plus 0.2 percent, as it awaits accounts due on Wednesday.

STMicroelecronics, on the other hand, closed down 0.7 percent. The company cut estimates for 2024 and initiated a cost-cutting plan in anticipation of a weak start for 2025, influenced by the crisis in the automotive sector. The chip maker expects full-year revenues to be at the low end of the previous estimate, at USD13.27 billion, compared to the initial range of USD13.2-13.7 billion.

A2A, on the other hand, gave up 0.5 percent, following a 1.9 percent red note in the previous session and priced at EUR2.08 per share.

On the Mid-Cap, Fincantieri strength - up 2.6 percent - after making it known Thursday evening that it signed with BQ Solutions, a Qatari company dedicated to providing strategic support to the country's military and security forces, Memorandum of Understanding in Doha with the aim of developing education and training programs, created under Italian guidance, for the Naval Forces of the Emirate of Qatar.

Webuild - up 2.1 percent - announced Thursday that it has signed a partnership agreement with Bologna FC 1909 with exclusive rights until Dec. 31, 2027 "for the performance of further technical feasibility studies and for the renovation and redevelopment in EPC, Engineering, Procurement and Construction mode, of the Dall'Ara stadium." The project involves a total investment estimated at EUR200 million.

WIIT in the green by 0.5 percent - announced Thursday the renewal of a five-year contract for cloud services and cyber security with a total value of about EUR2.6 million. The client is a major Italian multinational company, a leading operator in plastics processing.

GVS, on the other hand, gave up 0.9 percent to EUR5.90 per share, following up on the 1.3 percent red on the eve of the session.

Credito Emiliano closed the session in the red by 0.9 percent. The credit institution reported Thursday that Fitch Ratings revised the outlook on Credem's Long-Term Issuer Default Rating to 'positive' from 'stable' and confirmed the Long-Term Issuer IDR at 'BBB' and the Viability Rating at 'bbb'.

On Small-Cap, Tessellis closed in the green by 3.7 percent after a 3.6 percent loss on Thursday night.

Irce, on the other hand, rallied 2.4 percent to EUR2.16, after contracting 4.5 percent on the eve.

Zest closed bearish by 5.0%. The stock--which has been missing the ex-dividend since 2002--is profit taking after four bullish sessions.

Landi Renzo left 3.5% on the parter at EUR0.17, a new low in the 52-week frame time.

Among SMEs, NVP forces up 3.8 percent-after announcing Friday that it had consolidated revenues of EUR23.4 million in the first nine months of the year, up 20 percent from EUR19.5 million as of Sept. 30, 2023.

Destination Italia, on the other hand, closed upward by more than 14 percent, after launching a new strategic plan to position itself as "The First Glocal Travel Tech," as Milano Finanza writes Friday. This model integrates local tourism content, developed by digitized experts, with proprietary technology with high process automation. The company forecasts production value between EUR75 million and EUR90 million and Ebitda between EUR3 million and EUR4.5 million by 2025.

Reway Group in the green by 2.3 percent - reported Thursday that the value of production was EUR145.2 million in the first nine months. In the third quarter alone, production value reached EUR29 million. Most of the indicator came from the road and highway maintenance and rehabilitation sector with EUR102.9 million and the railway sector with EUR42.3 million.

Askoll Eva gave up 5.0 percent, following eve's gain of 0.5 percent.

H-Farm, also at the back of the pack, on the other hand, gave up 3.3%, veering lower after four sessions closed with a bearish candle.

In New York, the Dow is advancing 1.1 percent, the Nasdaq is in the green by 1.2 percent while the S&P 500 is in the green by 0.9 percent.

Among currencies, the euro changes hands at USD1.0847 from USD1.0886 on Thursday in closing European equities. The pound is worth USD1.2950 from USD1.2902 on Thursday evening.

Among commodities, Brent crude is worth USD73.45 a barrel from USD73.16 a barrel Thursday night. Gold trades at USD2,744.80 an ounce from USD2,746.28 an ounce Thursday night.

On Monday's economic calendar, coming in at 0945 CET is Italy's manufacturing PMI, followed by France, Germany and finally Eurozone at 1000 CET.

From the US, coming in at 1600 CET is the durable goods and factory orders data.

On the corporate calendar, however, coming up are the accounts of Arterra Bioscience, Autostrade Meridionali, Nusco and Riba Mundo Tecnologia.

By Maurizio Carta, Alliance News reporter

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