(Alliance News) - On Friday, major European stock markets closed in slightly positive territory in the last session before the Christmas vacations, with the exception of Paris.

"Equities were not able to muster much holiday enthusiasm but at least the FTSE 100 is heading into Christmas with a better year behind it than some of its peers," according to Chris Beauchamp, chief analyst at IG Platform.

"Despite expectations of further rate hikes in the United States, the dollar seems to have lost its luster. 2022 has been the greenback's year, but the Fed has scaled back hawkish rhetoric, leaving the U.S. currency more vulnerable to further declines, even if the U.S. economy avoids the hard landing many fear."

Thus, the FTSE Mib closed up 0.3 percent to 23,877.55, the Mid-Cap gained 0.2 percent to 39,437.39, the Small-Cap rallied 0.4 percent to 27,704.58, and Italy Growth finished up 0.1 percent to 9,187.52.

London's FTSE 100 closed in the green by 0.1 percent, Paris' CAC 40 fell 0.1 percent and Frankfurt's DAX 40 picked up 0.2 percent.

On the main list in Piazza Affari, Terna gave up 5.1 percent. On Thursday, the blue chip finalized the second closing for the sale to CDPQ, a global investment group, of Difebal, owner of a power line in Uruguay totaling 214 km for a consideration of more than EUR27 million, in line with the agreement.

BPER Banca rallied 0.1% after announcing that it had finalized the renewal of Bancassurance agreements with the Unipol Group, and in particular with UnipolSai Assicurazioni, for the distribution of life and non-life insurance policies of the companies "Arca Vita," "Arca Assicurazioni" and "Arca Vita International," as well as the so-called "health" products of the company UniSalute.

Eni gained 0.8 percent. The company reported Friday that Vår Energi, a listed company in which Eni is the largest shareholder, announced a new gas discovery in the Barents Sea in Norway.

The discovery is preliminarily valued at 9-21 billion cubic meters of recoverable gas-57-132 million barrels of oil equivalent-and has the potential to contribute to future gas supply from the Barents Sea.

Banco BPM rallied 0.2 percent after announcing Friday that it has signed a binding term-sheet with Crédit Agricole Assurances to form a long-term strategic bancassurance partnership in the Non-Life/Protection sector.

Leonardo rose 2.1 percent. The company announced that it has been awarded by the Canadian Department of National Defense and through Leonardo UK Ltd - Yeovil a contract worth CAD1 billion or EUR690 million for the AW101/CH-149 SAR Search and Rescue "Cormorant" helicopter fleet modernization and expansion program.

On the Mid-Cap, GVS rose 9.6 percent. The company, in verifying compliance with contractual convenants, announced Friday that it has obtained an agreement with the pool of creditor banks and bondholders to amend and adjust the financial covenant.

In addition, partner GVS Group committed to provide an unsecured shareholder loan for the company suitable to meet the leverage ratio as of Dec. 31, 2022.

Juventus is up 4.9 percent. Last night it let it know that it had received an "appeal for partial revocation, pursuant to Article 63, of the CGS, of the decision of the Federal Court of Appeal of May 27, 2022, which has become final" from the Federal Prosecutor's Office at the FIGC.

The appeal is linked to the identification of new evidence that emerged after the analysis of telephone and environmental wiretaps, computer exchanges and hand documents that "demonstrate the existence of a system, an organization, a budget planning of buying and selling of players carried out not for technical reasons but for reasons exclusively related to the need to achieve, through artifice, certain economic-financial results," as reported in the petition.

Maire Tecnimont gained 0.3 percent. On Thursday, it announced that its subsidiaries Tecnimont, KT-Kinetics Technology and Stamicarbon were awarded several new contracts for licensing, engineering services and engineering and procurement activities as well as engineering, procurement and construction, with a total value of about USD280 million.

Its subsidiary Tecnimont was awarded an EPC contract with a total value of about USD1.3 billion and covers the construction of a petrochemical plant and associated utilities and infrastructure.

Fincantieri closed up 0.1 percent after announcing that, as part of an EU call for tenders for the Defense and Security sector, it has signed a contract with the General Secretariat of Defense and National Armaments Directorate Naval Armaments Directorate for the construction of a new Naval Hydro-Oceanographic Major - NIOM unit destined for the Hydrographic Institute of the Navy, with delivery scheduled in 2026 at the integrated shipyard in Riva Trigoso-Muggiano.

The contract has a total value of about EUR280 million and also includes integrated logistics and temporary support services for the duration of six years plus four options.

On the Small-Cap, Monrif -- up 2.6 percent -- and subsidiary Emiliana Grandi Alberghi announced Thursday that the sale of the property owned by Monrif, located in Assago and housing the Royal Garden Hotel, to W Property Investments was finalized.

Aeffe is in the green by 2.0 percent after announcing Thursday that it has signed the deed of merger by incorporation of its wholly owned subsidiary Velmar Spa.

Civitanavi Systems is still on the bottom and gives up 19 percent after approving its 2023 budget on Thursday and announcing an update to its FY 2023 total revenue and adjusted Ebitda targets, "to better reflect in the projections the changed macroeconomic scenario compared to what was published in early February 2022," the company explained in a note.

Thus, the guidance has been updated by forecasting a total revenue target within the range of EUR42-46 million as of December 31, 2023, and adjusted Ebitda margin of about 29 percent.

Cellularline - in the green by 1.0 percent - announced the signing of a binding agreement to purchase 60 percent of the share capital of Peter Jäckel Kommunikationssysteme, a major German smartphone accessories player.

The preliminary consideration for the acquisition of 60 percent of the share capital of Peter Jäckel GmbH is EUR3.05 million and will be paid upon closing.

Orsero -- up 2.3 percent -- on Thursday disclosed that it has signed the share purchase agreement to acquire 80 percent of Blampin's capital. The company recalls that the consideration for the acquisition of 80 percent of the capital totals about EUR40 million.

On the alternative capital market of Piazza Affari, Digital Value ended in the green by 2.0 percent after announcing Thursday that it had achieved Oracle Cloud Solution Provider certification, thus crediting itself among the Italian Oracle Partners that have already achieved this achievement.

Analysts predict that public cloud spending will exceed 45 percent of all enterprise IT spending by 2026.

In New York, the Dow is up 0.1 percent, the Nasdaq gives up 0.4 percent, and the S&P 500 rises 0.1 percent.

Among currencies, the euro changes hands at USD1.0621 versus USD1.0599 at Thursday's close. In contrast, the pound is worth USD1.2063 from USD1.2019 on Thursday evening.

Among commodities, Brent crude is worth USD84.28 per barrel from USD81.40 per barrel on Wednesday night. Gold, on the other hand, trades at USD1,810.60 an ounce from USD1,804.05 an ounce on Thursday evening.

On Tuesday's economic calendar, Japan's unemployment figure is due at 0030 CET, while at 0230 CET it is the turn of Chinese industrial profits. Back in Japan, at 0600 CET construction orders and new residential building sites will be released.

In the afternoon, overseas, it is the turn of the U.S. goods trade balance and wholesale warehouse stocks.

Half an hour later, the housing price index will be released.

Among the companies listed on the Stock Exchange, there are no events to report.

By Claudia Cavaliere, Alliance News reporter

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