(Alliance News) - On Thursday, European equity markets moved in a bearish trend, with trading desks awaiting moves -- or standstill -- from the Bank of England, while absorbing the aggressive stance, despite the confirmation of the main rate, from the Federal Reserve.

With the unexpected drop in British inflation, investors now rate it almost equally likely that British interest rates will remain unchanged. Meanwhile, as mentioned, in the United States, the Fed has kept interest rates steady, but has indicated the likelihood of another rate hike before the end of the year and rate cuts in the following year.

As a result, the FTSE MIB is down 0.8 percent to 29,984.44.

In Europe, London's FTSE 100 is giving up 0.5 percent, Paris' CAC 40 is giving up 1.1 percent, and Frankfurt's DAX 40 is marking minus 0.8 percent.

Among the smaller lists, the Mid-Cap is down 0.6 percent to 40,612.53, the Small-Cap is flat at 26,336.41, and Italy Growth marks a 0.3 percent decline to 8,570.60.

On the main list in Piazza Affari, among the few bullish performers is Banca Monte dei Paschi, which advances 1.6 percent to EUR2.76 per share.

Also in the black is UniCredit, which advances 1.4 percent to ER23.41. The banking group on Wednesday announced plans to launch a tranche of its share buyback program for up to EUR2.5 billion.

Eni -- in the 1.1 percent letter -- announced Wednesday that it bought back 680,917 of its own shares on Sept. 11. The shares were taken over at a weighted average price of EUR14.9723 for a total consideration of EUR10.0 million.

Doing worse was Saipem, which contracted 2.6 percent after eve's 2.9 percent decline.

On the cadet segment, Eurogroup Laminations marks minus 2.3 percent, following up the previous three sessions among the bearish.

Webuild -- down 2.0 percent -- on Wednesday evening announced the terms of its senior unsecured fixed-rate bonds, the net proceeds of which will be used to repay the company's existing debt. The total principal amount of the new bonds is EUR450 million with a subscription price of 98.982% of their face value. The maturity date is September 27, 2028, and the corresponding annual coupon is 7 percent.

The tail end of the list at the moment is Ariston Holding, which is backtracking 2.3 percent. On the stock it is mentioned that Arrowstreet Capital on Wednesday initiated a short position on the stock at 0.5 percent.

Among the bullish is OVS, which appreciates 2.1% to EUR.14. The clothing company said Wednesday that its board of directors approved its half-year report--period ended July 31--reporting a net profit of EUR33.7 million up from EUR31.9 million in the same period last year.

Net sales amounted to EUR734.9 million up 4.1 percent from EUR705.8 million in the same period last year. Sales from direct stores drove this growth, the company explained in a note, "which occurred mainly on a like-for-like basis. Franchise performance, up at the sell-out level, was, on the other hand, stable at the sell-in level due to different billing timing. Strong sales growth in all new businesses."

On the Small-Cap, boost on Safilo Group, which advances 7.7 percent with new price at EUR0.9170. The company, together with Amazon, announced Wednesday the launch of new Carrera smart glasses with Alexa, a mix of Safilo's Italian design and Alexa technology, packed into two iconic and innovative models.

Good buys also on Itway, which moves bullish with a plus 6.5 percent bringing the price to EUR2.20 per share.

In red, also the dominant color in thislist, Restart is giving up 4.0% after eve's gain of 1.4%.

Banca Profilo, on the other hand, is giving up 2.7 percent, after a 7.4 percent gain in the previous session.

On the Italy Growth index, in a still uneventful list, Grifal is forging ahead with 2.6 percent, after a 4.9 percent decline on the eve.

On the downside, nthe back of the pack sees Bifire,which marks a minus 5.3 percent after a green of 0.7 percent on Wednesday evening.

The board of directors of G Rent Spa--which met Wednesday evening--approved data as of June 30 that showed a net result with a loss of EUR593,000, compared with a loss of EUR312,000 in the same period last year. Turnover was EUR757,000, compared to EUR989,000 as of June 30, 2022. The stock opened trading in the green by 0.6 percent.

In New York on European night, the Dow closed down 0.2 percent, the Nasdaq gave up 1.5 percent, and the S&P 500 left 0.9 percent on the sidelines.

Among Asian exchanges, the Hang Seng is leaving 1.4 percent on the parterre, the Shanghai Composite gave up 0.8 percent, while the Nikkei dropped 1.4 percent.

Among currencies, the euro changed hands at USD1.0641 versus USD1.0723 in Wednesday's European equities close, while the pound is instead worth USD1.2321 from USD1.2406 on Wednesday evening.

Among commodities, Brent crude is worth USD92.36 per barrel versus USD94.19 per barrel at Wednesday's close. Gold, meanwhile, trades at USD1,927.89 an ounce from USD1,943.42 an ounce on Wednesday evening.

On Thursday's macroeconomic calendar, at 1000 CEST, focus on the Spanish trade balance and, at 1300 CEST, on the Bank of England's UK decision on interest rates.

At 1430 CEST, U.S. unemployment claims will come out while, at 1600 CEST, it will be the turn of EU consumer confidence and a speech by European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde.

Among the companies in the Piazza Affari, the accounts of Civitanavi Systems, Conafi, Seri Industrial and Gismondi 1754, among others, are expected.

By Maurizio Carta, Alliance News senior reporter

Comments and questions to redazione@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2023 Alliance News IS Italian Service Ltd. All rights reserved.