Indices down, S&P opens rating season for Italy

(Alliance News) - Piazza Affari closed the last trading session of the week in the red, sank by oil stocks and the financial sector, on the day S&P will open the rating review season for Italy.

Axel Rudolph, senior market analyst at IG, said, "The Fed's hard line, soaring U.S. yields and fears of an escalation in the Middle East pushed global stock indexes into negative territory for the week."

"An increase of more than 10 percent in the price of gold over the past two weeks and the rise in oil prices to just under USD90 per TWI are not helping inflationary pressures, with Fed Chairman Jerome Powell reiterating yesterday that U.S. inflation is still too high and needs to come down."

The FTSE Mib closed Friday down 1.4 percent to 27,357.00, the Mid-Cap gave up 1.1 percent to 38,160.88, the Small-Cap lost 1.7 percent to 24,521.12, and Italy Growth fell 1.4 percent to 7,786.84.

London's FTSE 100 closed down 1.3 percent, Paris' CAC 40 lost 1.3 percent and Frankfurt's DAX 40 gave up 1.6 percent.

On the main list in Piazza Affari, Saipem closed at the bottom, down 6.2 percent. Also hurt were Tenaris, down 2.3%, and Eni, down 0.4%.

Iveco lost 4.7% to EUR7.96 per share, its fourth straight session ended among the bearish.

Generali also contracted, with the Trieste-based lion's stock posting a minus 2.3%. Of note, Barclays lowered its target price to EUR32.70 from EUR34.40.

The financial sector lost ground, with Poste Italiane down 3.5 percent and Banca Monte dei Paschi losing 4.0 percent.

STMicroelectronics also gives way, down 3.1% with new price at EUR37.73 per share. On Friday, China announced new restrictions on exports of certain types of graphite, critical to making batteries for electric vehicles, just days after the United States imposed new restrictions on outflows of high-tech microchips.

Washington said this week that it will increase restrictions on exports of cutting-edge semiconductors, crucial for powering artificial intelligence systems, in the latest effort to curb Beijing's access to advanced technology.

Among the few positive notes, Nexi continues to rally, up 2.5 percent.

On the cadet segment, Brunello Cucinelli is advancing well, moving ahead 4.8 percent. The company reported Thursday that revenues for the first nine months rose 28 percent year-on-year to EUR818.4 million from EUR642.0 million in the same period a year earlier. In Italy, revenues rose to EUR97.2 million from EUR78.0 million, in Europe -- excluding Italy -- they rose to EUR217.9 million from EUR184.2 million, in the Americas they improved to EUR284.7 million from EUR233.9 million, and in Asia they rose to EUR218.6 million from EUR146.0 million.

Good session, among the few bullish, also for Salcef, which is picking up 1.3 percent after a 0.9 percent rise on eve.

Salvatore Ferragamo, which is down 1.9 percent with price at EUR11.70 per share, gives ground. Of note, UBS cut its target price on the stock to EUR11.00 from EUR12.00.

The luxury company reported that it reported revenues down 8.3% year-on-year for the nine months, to EUR844 million, due in part to a decline in both the Retail and Wholesale channels, with sales down 10% and 17%, respectively.

On a geographic basis, Asia-Pacific saw sales fall 16 percent, EMEA saw a 3.1 percent increase in sales, North America saw sales fall 20 percent, and Central and South America saw a 3.1 percent drop in sales.

Industrie de Nora closed the list, which retreated 5.5 percent with new price at EUR13.98 per share after rising 1.0 percent on the eve.

On the Small-Cap, good buying on Gabetti, which moves up 0.6% after three sessions closed with bearish candle.

Also up is I Grandi Viaggi, which with a rise of 3.8% places the price at EUR0.7660 after eve's loss of 2.6%.

On a negative note, among the list's many, Netweek is giving up 4.2% to EUR0.23, which coincides with its new 52-week low.

Among SMEs, expert.ai is giving up 5.8% with price at EUR0.8240 per share, bringing the weekly contraction over 13%.

Eles is marking a 4.3 percent decline, with price at EUR1.20, after hitting a 52-week low at EUR1.18.

Doing even better is ESI, which is up 0.7% after two seute among the bearish.

In New York, the Dow is down 0.6 percent to 33,231.75, the Nasdaq gives up 1.0 percent to 13,055.94 and the S&P 500 flexes 0.8 percent to 4,242.83.

Among currencies, the euro changes hands at USD1.0591 versus USD1.0575 recorded at Thursday's European stock close while the pound is worth USD1.2148 from USD1.2146 last night.

Among commodities, Brent crude is worth USD93.20 per barrel from USD91.21 per barrel at Thursday's close. Gold, on the other hand, trades at USD1,985.81 an ounce from USD1,965.50 an ounce last night.

Monday's macroeconomic calendar is fairly bare of events, with Swiss money supply due at 0900 CEST, Eurozone consumer confidence expected at 1600 CEST, and French and U.S. government bond auctions to be held at 1455 CEST and 1730 CEST, respectively.

Also on Monday, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange will be closed for Chung Yeung Day.

Among the companies in the stock market, the accounts of Sogefi and UniCredit are expected.

By Giuseppe Fabio Ciccomascolo, Alliance News senior reporter

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