MPS drags Mib down after 25 percent sell-off

(Alliance News) - European stock markets opened Tuesday without an unambiguous direction as investors show caution as they await the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest meeting later in the day, looking for signals on the direction of interest rates.

In the CME Group platform's FedWatch Tool, using futures also based on the actual federal funds rate or EFFR, the rate confirmation in the December meeting has a 100 percent probability for the 525/550 bp range confirmation.

Also on the monetary policy front, the governor of the Bank of England warned on Monday that it is "too early" to say inflation has been beaten, despite last week's data showing that the prime minister's goal of halving inflation has been achieved. In a speech, Bailey said it was also premature to start talking about an interest rate cut.

The dollar weakened against other major currencies as investors await the final minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting earlier this month.

Thus, the FTSE Mib opened 0.5 percent in the red at 29,391.46.

London's FTSE 100 is giving up 0.2 percent, Paris' CAC 40 0.1 percent, while the DAX 40 is advancing 0.2 percent.

Among the smaller lists, the Mid-Cap is giving up 0.1 percent to 41,831.96, the Small-Cap is in the red 0.1 percent to 26,010.31, and Italy Growth is rising 0.3 percent to 7,802.42.

On the main list in Piazza Affari, Iveco is off to a good start, moving ahead 0.9% to EUR7.41 per share, following up on the previous two sessions that closed with a bullish candle.

Good start also for Amplifon, which ranks bullish with 0.8 percent pointing to the third session to close on the upside.

At the tail end is Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, which gives up 3.8 percent. The Ministry of Economy and Finance announced that it has successfully completed the sale of nearly 315 million ordinary shares of Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena - equal to 25 percent of the share capital - through an "Accelerated Book Building - ABB" reserved for Italian and foreign institutional investors. Due to the demand raised of more than 5 times the initial amount, the offer was increased from 20 percent to 25 percent of BMPS' share capital.

The consideration per share is EUR2.92 for a total consideration of approximately EUR920 million. The consideration incorporates a discount of 4.9 percent from the closing price of the bank's shares recorded on November 20, 2023, and is nearly 50 percent higher than the subscription price of the bank's share capital increase made in November 2022. As a result of the transaction, the MEF's stake in BMPS will fall from 64.23 percent to about 39.23 percent of the share capital.

UniCredit - down 1.4 percent - reported Tuesday that it had purchased 4.4 million of its own ordinary shares between Nov. 13 and 17 for a total value of EUR109.3 million.

Stellantis sales -- in the red by 0.4 percent -- in October increased in Europe, along with the positive trend in the performance of the European market, where registrations grew by 15 percent. As data from ACEA, the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association, showed Wednesday, the merged giant of PSA Groupe and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles reported an 11 percent increase in sales in October, having registered 180,327 cars compared to 162,815 in October 2022, with market share, however, falling to 17.4 percent from 17.9 percent in 2022.

BPER Bank, on the other hand, is giving up 0.9 percent. Of note, Deutsche Bank raised its target price to EUR3.90 from EUR3.60.

On the cadet segment, Webuild is advancing with 1.3 percent, after 0.1 percent red on eve.

Buzzi, on the other hand, is advancing with 1.0%, after the eve's decline closed with minus 0.7%.

Technogym -- in the red with 0.1 percent -- announced Tuesday that it purchased 146,026 of its own shares during the period from Nov. 13 to Nov. 17. The shares were taken over at a daily weighted average price of EUR7.82 for a value of EUR1.1 million.

Tamburi Investment Partners--down 0.4 percent--reported Monday that between Nov. 13 and Nov. 17, it bought back ordinary shares worth a total of EUR513,000 or so.

On the Small-Cap, wriggle by Seri Industrial, which moves ahead 3.8 percent pointing to its third bullish session.

Weekly buyback for CIR - down 0.1 percent - which took over just over 1 million shares for a total value of EUR425,000 or so in the period Nov. 13-17.

Unidata--still not trading with price at EUR39.20--on Monday reported that the board of directors reviewed and approved an update to the business plan with extended targets to 2026. Among them, the company expects total revenues between EUR130 million and EUR140 million, with Ebitda between EUR37 million and EUR41 million, with margins between 28 percent and 29 percent. Unidata expects cumulative capex of about EUR56 million and net financial debt of about EUR23 million.

Among SMEs, good start for GEL, which moves ahead 6.1 percent after two bearish sessions.

IMD International Medical Devices - up 4.7 percent - reported Monday evening that, taking into account the information available to date, the group's growth trends remain unchanged at the moment. Turnover and Ebitda targets of around EUR50 million and EUR8 million respectively are planned for 2024. In addition, the CEO disclosed the unaudited management figure of net financial debt, which as of September 30, 2023 shows a net cash position of about EUR5.1 million.

In a still uneventful list, at the tail end is Bellini Nautica, which flexes 3.1 percent after a 7.5 percent gain on the eve of trading.

In New York on European night, the Dow rose 0.6 percent, the Nasdaq rallied 1.1 percent, and the S&P 500 picked up 0.7 percent.

Among Asian exchanges, the Nikkei closed just above the parity line, the Shanghai Composite closed marginally lower, while the Hang Seng is giving up 0.3 percent.

Among currencies, the euro changed hands at USD1.0954 against USD1.0941 recorded in Monday night's European stock close while the pound is worth USD1.2532 from USD1.2496 on Monday night.

Among commodities, Brent crude is worth USD81.74 per barrel from USD82.86 per barrel at Monday's close. Gold, meanwhile, trades at USD1,992.00 an ounce from USD1,974.01 an ounce on Monday evening.

On Tuesday's macroeconomic calendar, Bank of England Governor Bailey's speech is expected at 1115 CET.

In the afternoon, at 1600 CET, the housing sales report arrives from the US, while at 2000 CET the FOMC minutes from the latest monetary policy meeting will be published.

Among companies, Solutions Capital Management's nine-month results are expected.

By Maurizio Carta, Alliance News reporter

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