(Alliance News) - On Thursday, major European stock exchanges preempted a bearish track, with the Mib after an initial upward opening then veering to the sell side in the aftermath of the Federal Reserve's rate hikes in a 25 bps move.

At the same time, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told Congress that she had not considered or discussed anything having to do with insurance and guarantees on depositors' deposits.

Also on the topic of central banks, pending the Bank of England, the Central Bank of Switzerland raised its official rate by 50 basis points to 1.5 percent at Thursday's meeting, bringing the cost of money to its highest level since November 2008.

Thus, the FTSE Mib, is giving up 0.9 percent to 26,288.44 and put/call ratio at 2.9.

Among the smaller listings, the Mid-Cap is giving up 0.4 percent to 42,634.78, the Small-Cap is down 0.3 percent to 29,868.96 while Italy Growth is in the green 0.1 percent to 9,305.15.

In Europe, London's FTSE 100 is giving up 1.1 percent, Paris' CAC 40 is down 0.7 percent while Frankfurt's DAX 40 is down 0.8 percent.

On the Mib, among the bullish few, Inwit rises 3.9% with price at EUR11.76. JP Morgan on Tuesday raised its target price to EUR15.20 from EUR13.30 with an 'overweight' recommendation.

Terna moves ahead 2.0% to EUR7.44 per share. The board of directors on Wednesday reviewed and approved results for the year ended December 31, 2022, which ended with net income of EUR857.0 million, up EUR67.6 million from EUR789.4 million in 2021. The board proposed a dividend of EUR0.31 compared to EUR0.29 a year earlier.

Banca Monte dei Paschi also advances, marking a plus 2.8 percent to EUR1.96 per share. As Francesco Bonazzi writes in Alliance News, "the big waltz of appointments in Italian state-owned companies begins at Monte dei Paschi di Siena. By Sunday, the Treasury must present the list for the renewal of the board of directors ahead of the April 20 shareholders' meeting, and the confirmation of the current CEO, Luigi Lovaglio, currently enjoys a good chance.

"Discounted, however, is the change at the chairmanship, where Patrizia Maria Grieco has already made it known that she is not aiming for a renewal and the favorite is a current director, Nicola Maione," Bonazzi writes.

Italgas gives up 0.6 percent instead, in the track for the third session to close with bearish trend.

Doing worse is Saipem, which closes the list by retreating 2.6 percent in the wake of eve's red, albeit by 0.2 percent.

In the MidCap, Salcef steps up 3.2% to EUR20.45 per share on the heels of eve's green with 3.9%.

LU-VE, on the other hand, rises 2.5% to EUR30.50 per share, reversing course after two bearish sessions.

Iren -- in the money with 1.2 percent -- reported Thursday that it ended 2022 with a net profit of EUR226 million, down 25 percent from EUR303 million a year earlier. The 2022 result includes higher financial charges on derivatives of EUR21 million and the negative impact of the solidarity contribution estimated at EUR27 million. The 2022 figure compares with the 2021 result, which was positively impacted by EUR32 million from nonrecurring tax income and EUR9 million from other contingent assets.

Despite the drop in profit, the board's proposed dividend is up 10 percent year-on-year, to EUR0.11 from EUR0.10 paid last year.

Industrie De Nora gives way, with a minus 7.9%. The board of Industrie De Nora Spa approved the consolidated annual financial report as of Dec. 31, 2022, which closed with the group's net income rising 35 percent to EUR89.7 million from EUR66.4 million in 2021. The board proposed the distribution of a dividend of EUR0.12 per share.

Banca Popolare di Sondrio takes a step back with 2.7 percent in the wake of eve's red with 2.6 percent.

Saras, on the other hand, gives up 2.6 percent to EUR1.4215 per share on the heels of eve's red with 1.6 percent.

On the SmallCap, Eukedos advances with 7.2% to EUR1.26 per share, more than rebounding from the eve's red closed with minus 4.5%.

Class Editori - up 5.0% - reported that it returned to profit in 2022 and that revenues rose, despite the decline in the advertising market in the second half of the year. Net income returns EUR17.3 million from the EUR13.0 million loss a year earlier, and pretax profit is EUR22.8 million and compares with the pretax liability of EUR13.3 million a year earlier.

Seri Industrial contracted by 7.0 percent to EUR5.73. The board of directors reviewed and approved the draft operating budget for 2022, in which it reported a loss of EUR4.4 million compared to EUR462,000 in the previous year. Total revenues amounted to EUR204.1 million compared to EUR177.1 million in the previous year, due to both increased sales volumes in certain business segments and higher average prices.

Among SMEs, boost on Gambero Rosso, which advanced 8.2 percent. On Tuesday, the board reviewed and approved the issuer's draft financial statements as of December 31, 2022 and the consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2022, which closed with a consolidated net profit of EUR1.6 million compared to a balanced budget in 2021.

High quarters also for Imvest, which advances 3.7 percent to EUR3.7 after eve's loss of 4.2 percent. The stock had previously come from four bullish sessions.

Go Internet, on the other hand, gives up 7.0 percent to EUR0.2250, with the stock live active on the weekly frame. The stock shows high trading volume, with more than 140,000 pieces traded compared to a three-month average of just over 35,000.

In New York--on European night--the Dow gave up 1.6 percent as did the Nasdaq, while the S&P 500 slipped 1.7 percent.

Among currencies, the euro changed hands at USD1.0873 versus USD1.0799 at Wednesday's close. In contrast, the pound is worth USD1.2285 from USD1.2239 last night.

Among commodities, Brent crude is worth USD76.12 per barrel versus USD76.22 per barrel on Wednesday evening. Gold, meanwhile, trades at USD1,978.12 an ounce from USD1,949.14 an ounce at yesterday's close.

On Thursday's economic calendar, at 1300 CET, the interest rate decision by the Bank of England will be announced.

In the afternoon, from the US will come initial claims for unemployment benefits at 1330 CET and new home sales at 1500 CET.

At 1600 CET will come the European consumer confidence index while at 2300 CET is the Australian manufacturing and services PMI index.

By Maurizio Carta, Alliance News reporter

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