(Alliance News) - European futures show a mixed performance for the third session of the week, with Milan lined up on the downtrend.

Among the news before the bell, mention is made that Microsoft Corp reported a sharp decline in the second quarter as its More Personal Computing segment posted a disappointing performance. Net income for the second quarter was USD16.43 billion, down 12 percent from a year earlier when net income was USD18.77 billion. Basic earnings per share for the quarter fell to USD2.20 from USD2.50 on a year-over-year basis.

Meanwhile, regarding the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Kiev is about to receive the tanks that President Volodymyr Zelensky has been demanding for months. Germany and the U.S., in fact, are preparing to send tanks.

Thus, the FTSE Mib marks a bearish reading of 25.00 points after closing in the green by 0.2 percent at 25,884.31 Tuesday evening.

In Europe, Paris' CAC 40 is given just above parity, London's FTSE 100 is indicated up only 3.80 points while Frankfurt's DAX 40 is expected to be down 22.50 points.

Among the smaller listings Tuesday evening, the Mid-Cap closed down 0.3 percent at 43,061.73, the Small-Cap finished just below par at 29,761.60 and Italy Growth gained 0.5 percent to 9,609.67.

On the main segment, oil stocks fell. In fact, Saipem lost 3.4 percent, while parent company Eni instead gave up 1.5 percent.

On this front-as Francesco Bonazzi points out in Alliance News-"Italy is a candidate to become an energy hub for the whole of Europe, and Giorgia Meloni's government is increasingly espousing Eni's policy of geographic diversification, thanks to agreements with Algeria.

Also on the losing side was Tenaris, which gave up 1.3 percent, following up eve's loss with 1.8 percent.

Also down, among others, was FinecoBank, which also fell 1.3 percent, following eve's 1.3 percent red.

Among the positive notes - clear minority of the list - good session for Intesa Sanpaolo, which finished ahead 2.1% at EUR2.28. On the stock, Société générale raised its target price to EUR2.45 from EUR2.30 with a 'buy' recommendation.

On the Mid-Cap, in green is Enav, which picked up 2.1 percent and closes for the third session in a row in green.

Among the bearish, also a dominant color on this list, Technogym is back 4.3 percent. On the stock on mention Citadel Advisors has a net short position of 0.61%.

Marr, on the other hand, went down 2.6 percent, veering into negative after two straight sessions among the bullish.

Also in the rear is Banca Monte dei Paschi, which gave up 1.0 percent to EUR2.11 per share.

On the Small-Cap, soared KME Group, which closes ahead 8.4 percent. The stock posted high volume, at with over 2.0 million units traded against a three-month daily average of about 261,000.

Netweek, on the other hand, gave up 0.5 percent, placing the price bar at EUR0.0418.

WorldQuant raised its short on Digital Bros to 0.70 percent from 0.62 percent. The stock closed 1.3% in the red.

Sales also prevailed-among many bearish stocks-on d'Amico, which contracted 2.8 percent to EUR0.4025. The company disclosed Tuesday that its operating subsidiary d'Amico Tankers DAC in Ireland has exercised its call option on the MT High Explorer, a 50,000-ton "medium-range" tanker, built in May 2018 at Onomichi Dockyard Co, Ltd, Japan, for JPY4.1 billion, equivalent to about USD30.0 million, at the forward contract exchange rate used to hedge the currency exposure) and with estimated delivery in May 2023.

Among SMEs, CleanBnB brought home an 11 percent gain, following up on eve's green albeit with a more modest 1.9 percent. More than 111,000 pieces traded on the stock, compared with a three-month daily average of about 9,800.

Alfonsino still closes positive, with the balance of the day closing at plus 13 percent. The stock has rallied sharply since the release of preliminary fiscal year 2022 data that showed clear growth for the company.

In the bearish trend with which the list closed, Fenix Enetrtainment gave up 5.3 percent to EUR2.16, on the heels of Monday night's red with a more restrained 0.9 percent.

Altea Green Power, on the other hand, gave up 4.8 percent, the subject of profit taking after two sessions in which it accumulated a green of more than 17 percent.

In New York--in the European night--the Dow Jones closed down 0.3 percent, the S&P gave up 0.1 percent while the Nasdaq closed 0.3 percent in the red.

Among the Asian, with only the Japanese stock exchange open, the Nikkei closed up 0.4 percent.

Among currencies, the euro changed hands at USD1.0905 versus USD1.0882 at Tuesday's close. In contrast, the pound is worth USD1.2327 from USD1.2332 on Tuesday evening.

Among commodities, Brent crude is worth USD86.41 per barrel from USD86.62 per barrel Tuesday evening. Gold, meanwhile, trades at USD1,932.72 an ounce from USD1,934.31 an ounce last session.

On Wednesday's economic calendar, at 0900 CET will come the trade balance from Italy. At 1000 CET, however, space will be given to the ifo index from Germany.

From the US, at 1300 CET, will come the 30-year mortgage rate, the EIA report at 1630 CET as well as the Cushing inventory and oil inventories.

At 1900 CET, an auction of five-year U.S. Treasury bonds will be held.

Among the companies in the Piazza Affari, results from Aeffe, De' Longhi, STMicroelectronics, and Salvatore Ferragamo are expected.

By Maurizio Carta, Alliance News reporter

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