Mib resumes 30,500; MPS rears its head again

(Alliance News) - Mid-session Friday, the Mib moved into positive territory above the 30,500 area, in line with the performance of other European exchanges, as investors' attention shifted to potential interest rate cuts by the ECB.

President Christine Lagarde indicated Thursday that the most challenging phase of inflation may now be behind us, albeit without being more specific about possible time references on near-term money cost cuts.

The United States and the United Kingdom on Friday night carried out military strikes against Iran-backed Houthi rebels, raising fears of a wider escalation of the conflict in the region.

U.S. President Joe Biden said he ordered the strikes in response to "unprecedented" attacks by Yemen-based militants against commercial ships in the Red Sea. Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands also supported the operation.

Thus, the FTSE Mib rises 1.0 percent to 30,540.89, with the put/call ratio moving to the 1.6 mark.

In Europe, London's FTSE 100 is advancing 0.8 percent, Paris' CAC 40 is up 1.1 percent, and Frankfurt's DAX 40 is marking plus 0.9 percent.

Among the smaller listings, the Mid-Cap is advancing 0.7 percent to 44,252.42, the Small-Cap is up 0.8 percent to 27,968.43, and Italy Growth is down 0.1 percent to 8,234.93.

On the Mib, good performance for Banca Monte dei Paschi, which brings the bar up 2.8 percent after three bearish sessions.

Also advancing well is Saipem, which moves ahead 2.3 percent with new price at EUR1.44 driven by the rise of black gold. On the stock it is reported that a few days ago Capital Fund Management raised its short position to 1.05% from 0.93%, while Voleon Capital Management filed it down to 0.62% from 0.59%.

Good buying also on Prysmian, which moves ahead 2.3% with new price at EUR40.73 after two bearish sessions.

Barclays raised Terna's target price to EUR8.00 from EUR7.60, with the stock traveling in the green by 2.1%. On Tuesday it announced that it had successfully launched a EUR850 million, fixed-rate, single tranche bond issue. With a maturity of 7 years and maturing on January 17, 2031, it will pay an annual coupon of 3.50% per year and will be issued at a price of 99.385%, with a spread of 100 basis points over midswap.

Stellantis--up 0.5 percent--reported Friday that its venture capital fund, Stellantis Ventures, announced its participation as a strategic investor in Tiamat, a French company that develops and commercializes sodium-ion battery technology.

Among the few bearish performers is Pirelli, which marks a minus 0.4 percent after eve's gain of 2.8 percent.

On the Mid-Cap, PharmaNutra -- in good shape since the bell rang -- advances 6.2%, turning upward after two sessions in a row closed down.

Good prevalence of the buy side also on Fincantieri, which breaks a five-session downtrend by climbing 3.4 percent.

For Alerion, on the other hand, the rise is 2.7%, after two bearish sessions.

Credem - up 0.6 percent - announced Thursday evening that it had issued a new bond issue, aimed at institutional and professional investors, for

an amount of EUR500 million. The issue, in the "Social Covered Bond" format, will go to support social sustainability activities and highlights the group's commitment to ESG.

Double target price cut for Salvatore Ferragamo, which gives up 0.4 percent to EUR11.27 per share. Bank of America set it at EUR10.00 from EUR12.00, while Goldman Sachs places it at EUR11.80 from EUR13.60.

Negative note, among the few, also for Industrie de Nora, which marks a minus 1.5 percent, positioning the snout toward the fourth session to close with a bearish candle.

On the Small-Cap, momentum continues on Safilo Group, which follows the good trend seen since the opening and moves up 7.9 percent after two bearish sessions.

High quarters also for Servizi Italia, which appreciates more than 16 percent to EUR1.91. The stock-which has been missing the ex-dividend since 2020-is leaving behind two bearish sessions.

In contrast, algoWatt advances 4.3 percent after two bearish sessions, with new price at EUR0.3005.

Sales prevail - among many - on Caleffi, which brings the price bar down 5.9 percent, subject to profit taking after four upward sessions.

Restart, on the other hand, marks minus 2.8 percent, after eve's gain of 1.4 percent.

Itway, on the other hand, is giving up 3.5%, after two bullish sessions.

Among the SMBs, Impianti is advancing more than 13 percent, bringing its price to EUR0.50. The stock, rated by only one analyst on MarketScreener, has a target price of EUR1.70, thus being vastly underpriced.

CleanBnB, on the other hand, advances 5.8 percent to EUR1.19, rebounding after four sessions with a bearish candle.

The board of PharmaNutra -- up 6.2 percent -- on Thursday approved the group's preliminary sales figures for fiscal year 2023, reporting consolidated net revenues of EUR100.2 million, up 21 percent from full-year 2022, when they were EUR82.7 million. Revenues in the Italian market increased 15 percent to EUR68 million from EUR59.2 million in 2022 while overseas grew 37 percent to EUR32.2 million from EUR23.5 million in 2022.

Portobello -- down 0.8 percent on the heels of eve's loss -- reported Thursday that the board of directors had set the terms of the EUR8.0 million capital increase to be offered under option to shareholders. A total of 1.1 million new ordinary shares will be issued, with a subscription price of EUR7.00 per share.

In New York, the Dow closed just above par last night, the Nasdaq at perfect parity, and the S&P 500 gave up 0.1 percent.

Among currencies, the euro changed hands at USD1.0959 versus USD1.0943 recorded at Thursday's European stock close, while the pound is worth USD1.2753 from USD1.2704 last night.

Brent crude is worth USD80.35 per barrel versus USD78.74 per barrel at Thursday's close. Gold, meanwhile, trades at USD2,043.91 an ounce from USD2,019.55 an ounce last night.

Friday's economic calendar, at 1430 CET, the index of major U.S. producer prices is expected.

By Maurizio Carta, Alliance News reporter

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