(Alliance News) - Piazza Affari opens lower, more than expected, with investors profiting before the Christmas break and in the absence of relevant macro cues.

The FTSE Mib opened down 0.6 percent to 33,568.04, the Mid-Cap gives up 0.7 percent to 47,085.42, the Small-Cap is down 0.6 percent to 27,813.31, and Italy Growth loses 0.1 percent to 7,777.70.

In Europe, London's FTSE 100 is down 0.4 percent to 8,052.33, Paris' CAC 40 loses 0.4 percent to 7,245.53 and Frankfurt's DAX 40 flexes 0.3 percent to 19,835.76.

The Italian stock exchange's largest-capitalization list is tinged with red at the start, with only Mediobanca, Inwit and Prysmian up, by 1.5 percent the former and 0.3 percent apiece the other two.

The rest of the Mib is all down, although there are no major negative changes by the blue chips.

At the bottom of the basket is Azimut, down 1.2 percent, followed by BPER Bank, down about the same amount.

ERG gives up 0.9 percent at the start after it signed a five-year Pay As Produced power purchase agreement with Duferco Energia, a Duferco Group company that is among Italy's leading electricity and gas suppliers, for the supply of about 100 GWh/year of green energy produced by the Rotello wind farm in Molise, with an installed capacity of 42 MW.

The park, starting in 2025, will exit the incentive period.

On the Mid-Cap, the music is unchanged. MARR leads the bullish few with a 0.6 percent increase, but the rest of the basket is bearish, with Comer Industries doing worst of all, complicit with a 6.9 percent drop.

Also weighing on the list are Garofalo Health Care, down 2.8 percent, and GVS, in the red by 2.6 percent.

Rai Way opens down 0.8 percent after reporting that its board of directors confirmed its willingness to consider a potential merger with EI Towers.

The company's note comes after a joint statement issued by RAI, F2i and MFEMediaForEurope-whose A shares drop 1.4 percent and B shares give up 1.1 percent-which announced that a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding has been signed for the initiation of a possible combination of Rai Way and EI Towers.

On the Small-Cap, Banca Sistema thud at the start, suspended for excess volatility after a theoretical drop of 16%.

The bank received the Bank of Italy's report on the inspection completed in October. The report highlights a number of critical issues regarding the bank's compliance with regulations, particularly regarding the management of impaired loans and practices to mitigate the effects of EBA guidance on the definition of default.

Bank of Italy required corrective measures to be taken in the areas of governance, internal controls and regulatory transposition, including the preparation of a three-year capital plan. In addition, Banca d'Italia ordered that the Banca Sistema group refrain from profit distribution and payment of the variable part of remuneration from 2024 until a review of the situation.

Simulations given in the report show a significant increase in impaired loans, from EUR79 million to EUR372 million, with an impact on the total capital ratio, which would fall from 15.5 percent to 12.3 percent.

Also hurt were Fidia, down 8.8%, and Zucchi, down 4.0% at the open, while EPH, up 31% but now suspended for overbought, flew.

On the alternative capital market of Borsa Italiana, Farmacosmo rises 19% and records the best rise on the SME list, with shares rising to EUR0.60 each.

Basket volumes are still low and shares traded few. It does, however, show off positively CY4Gate, up 1.2 percent, after signing a contract worth a total of about EUR2.5 million with a leading domestic high-tech company to supply a technology solution to raise cyber protection levels.

This is a solution that includes new technological developments over the two-year project period, which will enable the end customer to benefit from enhanced cyber defense capabilities in light of emerging threats and in anticipation of future, even more insidious attacks.

In Asia, the Nikkei closed Monday up 1.2 percent to 39,161.34, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.5 percent to 3,351.26 and the Hang Seng was up 0.8 percent to 19,883.13.

In New York on Friday, the Dow closed up 1.2 percent at 42,840.26, the Nasdaq gained 1.0 percent to 19,572.60 and the S&P 500 rose 1.1 percent to 5,930.85.

Among currencies, the euro changed hands at USD1.0413 against USD1.0402 in Friday's European equities close. The pound is worth USD1.2568 from USD1.2561 on Friday evening.

Among commodities, Brent crude is worth USD73.15 per barrel from USD72.61 per barrel at Friday's close. Gold trades at USD2,628.98 an ounce from USD2,647.91 an ounce Friday evening.

Monday's macroeconomic calendar includes, at 1000 CET, the Italian non-EU trade balance.

Overseas, at 1430 CET, Canada releases data on industrial product prices.

On the bond front, at 1500 CET, France holds auctions of BTFs with three-, six- and 12-month maturities, while at 1730 CET, in the US, space is given to auctions of Treasury bonds with three- and six-month and two-year maturities.

Among companies listed on the Milan Stock Exchange, no particular announcements are expected.

By Giuseppe Fabio Ciccomascolo, Alliance News senior reporter

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