(Alliance News) - Major European stock exchanges opened flat as investors await the U.S. producer price data due this afternoon and the Fed minutes due out in the evening.

Meanwhile, from Germany Destatis reported that the consumer price inflation rate was confirmed at 4.5 percent year-on-year in September, down sharply from 6.1 percent in the previous month and marking the lowest level since the outbreak of war in Ukraine in February 2022.

The rate, which excludes volatile items such as food and energy, slowed to a one-year low of 4.6 percent.

As a result, the FTSE Mib is tied at 28,318.73, the Mid-Cap gives up 0.2 percent to 39,425.61, the Small-Cap is in fractional green at 25,476.60, and Italy Growth is just above par at 8,083.01.

In Europe, London's FTSE 100 is fractionally in the red, Paris' CAC 40 gives up 1.0 percent, while Frankfurt's DAX 40 retreats with 0.4 percent.

On the main list of the Italian stock exchange, in the banking segment BPER Banca and Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena are up 1.1 percent and 0.9 percent while UniCredit and Intesa Sanpaolo finish among the bearish, with declines of 0.2 percent and 0.1 percent.

Also in the highs are Iveco Group, which rises 1.3 percent and does better than all, Telecom Italia with a 0.8 percent rise, and Stellantis, which advances 0.9 percent.

Leonardo's positive trend continues, rising with 0.8% followed by the oil companies: Eni, Tenaris, and Saipem gain 0.6%, 0.7%, and 0.2%, respectively.

Azimut Holding gives up 0.2% after announcing Tuesday that it recorded positive net inflows of EUR247 million in September, reaching EUR5.0 billion since the beginning of the year and with a full-year 2023 target of EUR6-8 billion, of which 60% or EUR3 billion was directed into asset management products.

Banca Generali retreats 0.3 percent. It reported on Monday that it achieved net inflows of EUR373 million in September, up 42 percent from September 2022, bringing its total since the beginning of the year above EUR4.3 billion, up 7 percent from the same period last year albeit against a backdrop of high volatility in global financial markets.

On the cadet segment, on the other hand, Alerion opens flat after closing yesterday in the green by 7.2 percent, with the company continuing steadily with its buyback program. Most recently, it announced on Monday that it had bought back 6,250 of its own ordinary shares between October 2 and 6, for a total value of EUR157,000 or so.

ENAV -- in the red by 0.3 percent -- announced Tuesday that it has received a EUR160 million loan for the modernization and digitization of its air traffic management infrastructure and systems from the European Investment Bank.

PharmaNutra rises 1.3 percent after announcing the launch of a new share buyback program.

The program will have as its object a maximum of 22,000 ordinary shares, with no indication of par value, for a maximum value set at EUR1.1 million, and will have a duration of 18 months, calculated from the shareholders' meeting resolution of April 26.

Sesa gives up 0.3 percent. On Tuesday it announced that it has acquired, through its subsidiary Var Group Spa, 100 percent of the capital of Trias Mikroelektronik GmbH, thereby strengthening its expertise and software solutions for the engineering sector in the DACH Area.

On the Small-Cap, ePrice's stock is suspended after it announced Tuesday evening that the board of directors approved the half-year financial report as of June 30 reporting a loss of EUR897,000 from EUR21,000 in the first half of 2022.

The financial statements, the note said, were prepared "on the going concern basis," despite the presence of "significant uncertainties that raise significant doubts about the company's ability to continue as a going concern."

doValue, after closing in the black by 7.3 percent, now gives up 0.1 percent. The company announced Monday that it will start with a 2.0 million share buyback program. The shares, equal to 2.5 percent of the company's share capital, can be taken over by October 25, 2024, and at Friday's price of EUR3.59, the amount invested would be EUR7.2 million.

Datalogic - in the red by 0.4 percent - announced on Tuesday that it had concluded the share buyback program initiated last August 4 and subsequently increased on September 26, 2023.

Specifically, in the period between Aug. 4 and Oct. 9, the company purchased 1.4 million of its own shares out of a planned maximum of 2.3 million shares.

Among SMEs, in a still uneventful list, Doxee is still not trading. The company announced Tuesday evening that its board of directors has appointed new managers and assigned strategic roles to the group's top management in order to strengthen its executive team, which also consists of founders Sergio Muratori Casali and Paolo Cavicchioli, in the internationalization path the group has embarked on toward countries in the DACH and CEE areas.

Edil San Felice - still not priced - announced Tuesday that it had completed the acquisition of all the shares of Sogem Srl, a Campania-based company active in the restoration and maintenance of protected assets, for a total of EUR410,000.

Rocket Sharing Company -- up a theoretical 3.0 percent -- on Tuesday announced that it had signed a three-year agreement to outsource the end-to-end customer management service of Fastweb Spa's new dedicated energy sales business line.

The agreement provides, in favor of Stantup, which is 51 percent controlled by Rocket, a fixed monthly fee starting in October, totaling about EUR1.0 million over 3 years, in addition to a variable fee calculated on the commercial performance that Fastweb will achieve in terms of the number of customers who will subscribe to the energy supply service.

In Asia, the Nikkei closed up 0.6 percent, the Hang Seng advanced 1.3 percent, and the Shanghai Composite closed up 0.1 percent.

In New York, the Dow closed up 0.4 percent to 33,739.30, the Nasdaq up 0.6 percent to 13,562.84 and the S&P 500 finished up 0.5 percent to 4,358.24.

Among currencies, the euro changed hands at USD1.0609 against USD1.0606 recorded in Tuesday's European equities close, while the pound was worth USD1.2285 from USD1.2271 Tuesday evening.

Among commodities, Brent crude is worth USD88.06 per barrel from USD87.35 per barrel at Tuesday's close. Gold, on the other hand, trades at USD1,863.69 an ounce from USD1,859.00 an ounce Tuesday evening.

Wednesday's macroeconomic calendar continues at 1000 CEST with Italian industrial production. At 1110 CEST a 12-month BOT auction is scheduled.

At 1300 CEST the US mortgage report, while at 1430 CEST it will be the turn of the producer price index. At 1615 Waller's speech, and at 1815 CEST Bostic's. Expected at 2000 CEST are the FOMC minutes, while at 2230 CEST will come out the weekly oil stocks.

No particular events are scheduled in the corporate calendar.

By Chiara Bruschi, Alliance News reporter

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