Mib above parity; Campari does best of all

(Alliance News) - The Mib closed tentatively bullish on Wednesday, bringing the point bar to the 29,100 area Wednesday, in line with the performance of other European exchanges, as traders analyzed the FOMC minutes that did not change expectations much about the Fed's plans.

On Wednesday, 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 99.8 percent probability for the 525/550 bps range confirmation.

In contrast, the 25 bps rise in the 550/575 bps target is priced with a slim 0.2%.

Thus, the FTSE Mib closed just above par at 29,154.91, the Mid-Cap rose 0.2% to 41,625.70, the Small-Cap closed down 0.1% to 25,775.18 while Italy Growth rose 0.8% to 7,828.35.

In Europe, Paris' CAC 40 closed in the green by 0.4 percent,, as did Frankfurt's DAX 40. London's FTSE 100 - only bearish - left 0.2 percent on the parterre.

On the main list of Piazza Affari, Monte dei Paschi di Siena - in the green by 2.5 percent - reported that Moody's has upgraded its baseline credit assessment to 'ba3' from 'b1'. It also upgraded the long term deposit rating to 'Ba1' from 'Ba2' and the long term senior unsecured debt rating to 'Ba3' from 'B1'. The decision comes just days after Italy's outlook was revised to 'Stable'.

Campari, on the other hand, advanced 2.5 percent with price at EUR10.48 per share, following a 0.5 percent decline in the previous session and finishing the head of the bluechip segment.

Banco BPM left 0.6 percent on the parterre after falling 4.0 percent on the eve. Of note, the bank announced that it has upgraded its baseline credit assessment to 'baa3' from 'ba2'. Improving the rating by two notches, Moody's raised the long-term rating on senior unsecured debt to 'Baa2' from 'Ba1,' again improving it by two notches, and those on long-term deposits to 'Baa1' from 'Baa2.' The outlook is Stable.

Leonardo, on the other hand, gave up 1.9 percent, with price at EUR14.39, following up the eve's decline that closed with minus 1.7 percent. The company announced the completion of a public offering in the U.S. on Nov. 21 by its subsidiary Leonardo US Holding LLC of a minority stake - amounting to 20.7 million ordinary shares - in Leonardo DRS Inc. at an offering price of USD17.75 per share.

Enel - down 0.4 percent - signaled that it expects a minimum fixed dividend per share of EUR0.43, with a potential increase to a 70 percent payout on ordinary net income if cash flow neutrality is achieved. The group's ordinary Ebitda is expected to grow and increase to between EUR23.6 billion and EUR24.3 billion. Between 2024 and 2026, the Enel group has planned total gross investments of around EUR35.8 billion.

On the cadet segment, Eurogroup Laminations rallied 2.3 percent, following eve's contraction with 2.5 percent. The company, which is proceeding with its buyback program, announced Monday that it had bought back its own ordinary shares -- between Nov. 13 and Nov. 17 -- for a total value of about EUR462,000.

GVS, on the other hand, closed with a bullish candle of 3.4 percent, following up on the 1.4 percent gain on the eve of the event.

Green sign, among others, also for Alerion, which closed ahead 2.7 percent bringing the price to EUR24.45.

On a negative note, at the back of the pack is Technoprobe, which finished down 1.5 percent following the bearish candle of eve that closed down 2.3 percent.

On the Small-Cap, Gas Plus brought home a 4.5 percent gain, following Tuesday night's slight 0.2 percent decline.

Good buys also on Gefran, which brought the stock ahead 5.1 percent as it steadily pursues its buyback program. Most recently it reported on Monday that it had bought back its own ordinary shares - between November 13 and 17 - for a total value of about EUR83,000.

PLC -- in the green by 1.1 percent -- reported that PLC System, a group company, has signed a contract with RWE Renewables Italia regarding the balance of plant for a wind farm with a capacity of 54 MWp located in the province of Foggia. RWE is a utility active in the energy sector with a specific focus on the renewable energy segment in Europe and worldwide. The contract has a total consideration of more than EUR20 million, of which PLC System is responsible for about 14 percent.

Conafi, on the other hand, gave up 7.3 percent, closing with a negative balance after two bullish sessions.

d'Amico International Shipping -- in the red by 2.7 percent -- announced that it has received approval to trade its shares on the OTCQX Best Market in the U.S. starting Nov. 20.

Among SMEs, Impianti took home over 18 percent, rebounding after a long bearish trend.

Solutions Capital Management SIM rose 8.9 percent after reporting Tuesday that commission income for the first nine months rose 41 percent to EUR5.5 million from EUR3.9 million in the same period a year earlier. Commission expense was EUR2.7 million compared to EUR1.6 million as of September 30, 2022. Net interest and other banking income was EUR2.8 million, up 26 percent from EUR2.2 million in the same period last year. The net loss of EUR360,000 marks a marked improvement from the loss of EUR890,000 a year earlier.

IMD International Medical Devices - up 7.0 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.

On a negative note, among others, Doxee gave up 6.1 percent to EUR3.14, hitting its new 52-week low.

In New York, the Dow is rallying 0.5 percent, the Nasdaq is in the green by 0.6 percent, and the S&P 500 is advancing 0.4 percent.

Among currencies, the euro changes hands at USD1.0871 against USD1.0938 recorded in Tuesday's European stock close while the pound is worth USD1.2463 from USD1.2537 last night.

Among commodities, Brent crude is worth USD79.23 per barrel from USD81.74 per barrel at Tuesday's close. Gold, on the other hand, trades at USD1,993.28 an ounce from USD2,003.61 an ounce Tuesday evening.

On Thursday's macroeconomic calendar, Germany's manufacturing PMI is due at 0930 CET, the Eurozone PMI at 1000 CET, and UK data at 1030 CET. At 1330 CET, on the other hand, the ECB minutes will be published.

Among companies, there are no particular appointments on the calendar.

By Maurizio Carta, Alliance News reporter

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