(Alliance News) - Europe's major stock markets closed higher on Friday at the end of a day marked by the release of PMI data from the Eurozone, the U.S. and major Old Continent countries.

April's seasonally adjusted Eurozone Composite Manufacturing PMI flash index, which is based on about 85 percent of final responses, rose for the sixth consecutive month, rising to 54.4 from 53.7 in March and touching its highest value since May last year.

Overseas, U.S. private sector growth this month exceeded expectations, according to data from an S&P Global survey.

S&P Global's flash reading of composite purchasing managers rose to an 11-month high of 53.5 points in April from March's final tally of 52.3.

Thus, the FTSE Mib closed in the green 0.4 percent to 27,745.81, the Mid-Cap is in the green 0.5 percent to 43,870.53, the Small-Cap gives up 0.5 percent to 29,476.49, and Italy Growth is in the green 0.2 percent to 9,237.94.

In Europe, Paris' CAC 40 ends up 0.5 percent, London's FTSE 100 closes up 0.2 percent, and Frankfurt's DAX 40 ends up 0.5 percent.

"The week ended with U.S. markets down, although a more optimistic tone prevails in Europe. Risk appetite was shaken by the prospect of a new standoff between the U.S. and China, which hit Chinese tech stocks this morning, but the afternoon session saw Europe stabilize. Overall stocks are not yet able to establish a clear direction: having bounced off the March lows, there is a sense of caution about where we go from here," commented Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG.

On the main list of Piazza Affari, Intesa Sanpaolo -- in the red by 0.2 percent -- and Salcef Group announced on Friday that they had signed an agreement to sell back tax credits related to building bonuses and Superbonus with a tax value of EUR40 million.

Telecom Italia ends up at the bottom and gives up 4.3 percent. From April 14 to April 21, in five sessions, it lost EUR560 million in capitalization.

"And, in the end, the Vivendi knot comes abruptly to the boil, with TIM's stock targeted by sales for the third day in a row," comments Francesco Bonazzi in Alliance News. "The Italian shareholders, starting with the public CDP, and the current management, yesterday, collected a defeat at the shareholders' meeting, and so a fact that the public debate tends to remove comes back into focus: the Bolloré family's financial company has 24 percent of the company and is by far the largest shareholder.

The company announced that it has acquired TS-Way, an Italian company specializing in cyber attack prevention and analysis services.

The deal was finalized through Telsy, a group company focused on cybersecurity, which operates within TIM Enterprise.

Saipem -- up 1.0 percent -- and Clough, the Australian subsidiary of the Webuild Group, in an equal joint venture, announced Friday that they had obtained full contractual effectiveness for the development of the Perdaman Industries urea plant, located on the coast of Western Australia, with the achievement of the Commencement Date.

The value of the new contract is just over USD2.8 billion-EUR2.56 billion; each JV participant's share is about USD1.4 billion.

Interpump Group, in the green by 1.4 percent, announced the acquisition of a 70 percent stake in I.Mec.

Founded in 1989 and headquartered in Reggio Emilia, I.Mec specializes in the manufacture of mechanical screens, i.e., devices for particle size selection of matter through vibration mechanisms, with the ceramic, recycling, purification, food and cosmetics industries as its main application sectors. The company ended fiscal year 2022 with a turnover of about EUR17 million and an Ebitda margin in the neighborhood of 23 percent.

The value of the transaction was set at around EUR14 million.

On the Mid-Cap, Arnoldo Mondadori Editore - in the red by 0.8 percent - announced Thursday that it had executed a contract for the sale to PBF Srl of its 18.45 percent shareholding in Società Europea di Edizioni Spa, publisher of the daily newspaper Il Giornale.

Cementir Holding-which closes in the red by 0.3 percent-reported that the shareholders' meeting renewed the board of directors, which will serve a three-year term, reducing the number of members to eight, including one executive director, Francesco Caltagirone, and seven nonexecutive directors.

Maire Tecnimont--in the red by 2.2 percent--reported Friday that its subsidiary NextChem, part of the Sustainable Technology Solutions business unit, after completing the advanced engineering study for methanation for the Salamandre project in Normandy, has been awarded a new contract by Storengy to perform an additional advanced engineering study for the gasification of wood waste and the purification of synthesis gas system to produce biomethane.

Salvatore Ferragamo ends at the tail and gives up 5.9 percent after announcing Thursday consolidated revenues for the first quarter of 2023 reporting a decline to EUR277.9 million as of March 31 from EUR289.4 million in the same period of 2022.

On the Small-Cap, Sogefi closed 1.2% in the red. The company reported Friday that in the first quarter of 2023 it had revenues of EUR431.6 million, up 13 percent from EUR381.1 million in the same period of 2022.

Net income for the period amounted to EUR13.2 million up from EUR10.7 million in the first quarter of 2022.

Autostrade Merididionali closes in the red by 0.4 percent to EUR after its share price rose to EUR23.30 on Thursday's close from EUR19.80 five sessions ago in the last five trading days alone.

Piquadro closes unchanged at EUR1.77 per share after reporting Wednesday that revenues for the fourth quarter and full year ended March 31, 2023 rose by double digits year-on-year.

In fiscal 2022-2023, revenues increased 18 percent to EUR175.6 million from EUR149.4 million while, in the fourth quarter alone, they improved 22 percent to EUR48.8 million from EUR40.0 million.

Among SMEs, CleanBnB closes in the red by 0.9 percent after announcing that it approved the draft financial statements for the year ended Dec. 31, having reported a loss of EUR155,305, an 86 percent improvement from a loss of EUR1.2 million in 2021.

Consolidated revenues amounted to EUR9.4 million from EUR4.0 million in the same period of the previous year and a triple-digit improvement of 136%.

Convergences - unchanged at EUR2.38 per share - reported that it viewed key management data for the first quarter, reporting revenues of EUR5.0 million from EUR6.1 million in the same period of 2022.

In detail, the TLC business unit achieved revenues of EUR2.4 million compared to EUR2.3 million in the first quarter of 2022, while the energy business unit while the Energy BU reported a 30 percent decrease in revenues to EUR2.6 million compared to EUR3.7 million in 2022.

Finlogic ends in the green by 0.4 percent after reporting Thursday that first quarter revenues rose 34 percent year-on-year to EUR20.3 million from EUR15.1 million in the same quarter a year earlier.

Without including the two companies taken over during 2022 in the accounts, revenues would mark a 12 percent increase to EUR16.9 million from EUR15.1 million.

In New York, at the height of trading on Friday, the Dow Jones is in the red by 0.2 percent, the S&P is in the fractional red while the Nasdaq is just above par.

Among currencies, the euro changes hands at USD1.0973 versus USD1.0972 at Thursday's close. In contrast, the pound is worth USD1.2415 from USD1.2455 on Thursday evening.

Among commodities, Brent crude is worth USD81.54 per barrel USD81.04 per barrel Thursday evening. Gold, on the other hand, trades at USD1,976.36 an ounce from USD2,002.73 an ounce at Thursday's close.

On Friday's economic calendar, at 1000 CEST in Germany the ifo index on euro zone business sentiment and assessment of the current German situation with business expectations will be released.

At 1430 CEST in Canada, the new home price index is expected.

In Piazza Affari, results from algoWatt, Destination Italia, Farmacosmo, Portale Sardegna and Take off are expected.

By Chiara Bruschi, Alliance News reporter

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