Mib down, MPS plunges after sale of MEF shares

(Alliance News) - Ahead of the minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest meeting, which will be released tonight, with markets closed, Piazza Affari closed sharply lower on Tuesday, in the wake of the negative performance of the rest of the European stock markets.

Axel Rudolph, senior market analyst at IG, said, "Ahead of Nvidia's results, the FOMC minutes, and the extended Thanksgiving weekend, traders cashed in on some of the strong equity gains of the past three weeks as results from major U.S. retailers disappoint."

"New 2010 lows in U.S. existing home sales and the lowest U.S. domestic activity in seven months also dampened the mood. Most European stock indexes slipped into the red as the results season draws to a close."

The FTSE Mib closed Tuesday down 1.3 percent to 29,153.42, the Mid-Cap gave up 0.8 percent to 41,540.47, the Small-Cap lost 0.9 percent to 25,793.35, and Italy Growth fell 0.1 percent to 7,768.67.

In Europe, London's FTSE 100 closed down 0.2 percent, Paris' CAC 40 lost 0.3 percent and Frankfurt's DAX 40 did not move from parity.

On the main list of Piazza Affari, among the few bullish stocks, good session for Nexi, which rose 1.0%, closing its third straight session among the bullish.

Good trades also on Ferrari, which ranks bullish with 0.4%, also heading for the third session to close on a positive trend.

Trailing was Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, which gave up 7.9 percent. The Ministry of Economy and Finance announced that it had successfully completed the sale of nearly 315 million ordinary shares of the Siena-based institution - equal to 25 percent of its share capital - through an accelerated book building reserved for Italian and foreign institutional investors. With the demand raised amounting to more than five times the initial amount, the offer was increased from 20 percent to 25 percent of the share capital.

The consideration per share is EUR2.92, for a total consideration of about EUR920 million, and incorporates a discount of 4.9 percent compared to the closing price of the bank's shares on Tuesday and is almost 50 percent higher than the subscription price of the bank's share capital increase carried out in November 2022. As a result of the transaction, the MEF's stake in MPS will fall from 64.2 percent to about 39.2 percent of the share capital.

UniCredit -- down 1.6 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 1.8 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 on Wednesday, the merged PSA Groupe and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles giant posted 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.

Intesa Sanpaolo lost 1.4 percent after successfully placing a USD3.00 billion total dual tranche issue in the US.

In detail, the bank placed a 10-year bullet senior preferred bon for a nominal USD1.5 billion, at a level equal to US Treasury plus 280 basis points and fixed-rate coupon of 7.20%; and a 30-year senior preferred bond for a nominal USD1.5 billion, at a level equal to US Treasury plus 325 basis points and fixed-rate coupon of 7.80%.

This is the largest issuance for Intesa Sanpaolo in 10 years, finalized at a total cost that is in line with what is theoretically replicable in euros. In addition, the 30-year tranche is the longest senior preferred issued in 2023 by bank issuers in dollars.

On the cadet segment, Webuild is up 0.7 percent and GVS up 1.4 percent, recording the best performance in a mostly bearish basket.

Buzzi rose 2.7 percent after eve's 0.7 percent decline, doing better than all and bringing the price to EUR27.68.

Ferretti, on the other hand, left 4.7 percent on the parterre after two sessions closed higher.

Technogym--in the red by 1.4 percent--announced Tuesday that it had purchased 146,026 of its own shares in the period between Nov. 13 and Nov. 17. The shares were taken over at a daily weighted average price of EUR7.82 for a value of EUR1.1 million.

Carel Industries lost 2.6 percent. Luigi Rossi Luciani and Athena announced Monday evening that they had successfully completed the accelerated book building procedure involving valid option rights for the subscription of Carel Industries ordinary shares arising from the capital increase. As a result of the placement, which was reserved for Italian and foreign institutional investors, a total of 31.2 million option rights were placed. The unit price was EUR0.50, for a total consideration of approximately EUR15.6 million.

On the Small-Cap, Gabetti rose 4.1 percent, ending its third bullish session in a row.

Openjobmetis also did well, up 4.1 percent after declining 1.9 percent on the eve.

Unidata - in the red by 3.6 percent to EUR37.80 - on Monday reported that its board of directors reviewed and approved an updated 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 debt of about EUR23 million.

Among SMEs, good session for GEL, up 6.4 percent after two bearish sessions.

IMD International Medical Devices - up de l5.5 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.

Convergences, on the other hand, gained more than 14 percent, in its third session on the bullish side.

In New York, the Dow is down 0.2 percent to 35,073.66, the Nasdaq is down 0.8 percent to 14,170.94, and the S&P 500 loses 0.4 percent to 4,530.64.

Among currencies, the euro changes hands at USD1.0938 against USD1.0941 recorded in Monday night's European stock close while the pound is worth USD1.2537 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 USD2,003.61 an ounce from USD1,974.01 an ounce on Monday evening.

Wednesday's macroeconomic calendar includes the European Central Bank report on Eurozone financial stability, at 1000 CET, followed by the UK Autumn Statement, at 1100 CET, and US mortgage data, at 1300 CET.

German import prices will be released at 1330 CET, one hour before US jobless claims and goods orders. At 1600 CET, eyes on euro area consumer confidence, half an hour before U.S. crude oil stocks data. At 1900 CET, focus on Baker Hughes data on U.S. drilling rigs.

Among companies listed on the Milan Stock Exchange, the accounts of MFE-MediaForEurope are scheduled.

By Giuseppe Fabio Ciccomascolo, Alliance News senior reporter

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