(Alliance News) - On Monday, Piazza Affari and major European stock markets are expected to lack momentum ahead of the release of European macroeconomic manufacturing data.

Weighing on markets is the uncertainty of the U.S. election outcome, with several states still in the balance on the eve of election day, after markets shrugged off Friday's U.S. jobs report.

"Markets seemed relatively uninterested in the jobs data, with movement following the payrolls data fading within a couple of hours. Jobs Day is not what it used to be!" is the analysis of Michael Brown - Senior Research Strategist at Pepperstone.

"We are in for a quiet day today, although in truth almost all market participants are already focused on tomorrow's presidential election. As election day approaches, we could see further hedging, de-risking and rebalancing of positions," the expert explains.

"As for today's events, this morning's latest eurozone manufacturing PMI survey is unlikely to move the needle, nor is this afternoon's U.S. factory orders data likely to do so."

The market's eyes are all on the polls.

Futures give the FTSE Mib up 42.5 points or 0.1 percent after closing Friday's session up 1.2 percent at 34,676.17.

Paris' CAC 40 is expected to be in the green by 0.1 percent or up 7.9 points, as is Frankfurt's DAX 40 up 9.3 points, while London's FTSE 100 is expected to be on the parity threshold or up 0.7 points.

In Milan on Friday evening, the Mid-Cap rallied 0.2 percent to 46,163.08, the Small-Cap advanced 0.1 percent to 28,078.16, and Italy Growth closed in the green 0.2 percent to 7,937.01.

On the largest-capitalization list, UniCredit closed on top, up 3.6 percent and upgrading to a new 52-week high at EUR42.12, after Fitch upgraded its rating to BBB+.

The agency also changed the outlook from stable to positive, with the rating now one notch above Italy's sovereign rating, the newspaper continued. According to Fitch, this result reflects exceptional strength relative to domestic peers, supported by effective diversification into performing or growing economies.

Intesa Sanpaolo--which closed in the green by 2.5 percent--also fared well after the board on Thursday approved its consolidated interim report for the nine months ended September 30, closing the period with net income up 17 percent to EUR7.2 billion from EUR6.1 billion in the first nine months of 2023. The board also approved the distribution of EUR0.17 per share as an interim dividend for 2024. The total is about EUR3.0 billion.

Banco BPM rallied 2.6 percent to EUR6.35 per share, on the heels of the eve's rise of plus 0.2 percent, as it awaits accounts due on Wednesday.

STMicroelecronics, on the other hand, closed down 0.7 percent. The company cut estimates for 2024 and initiated a cost-cutting plan in anticipation of a weak start for 2025, influenced by the crisis in the automotive sector. The chip maker expects full-year revenues to be at the low end of the previous estimate, at USD13.27 billion, compared to the initial range of USD13.2-13.7 billion.

A2A, on the other hand, gave up 0.5 percent, following a 1.9 percent red note in the previous session and priced at EUR2.08 per share.

On the Mid-Cap, Fincantieri strength rose 2.6 percent after announcing Thursday evening that it had signed with BQ Solutions, a Qatari company dedicated to providing strategic support to the country's military and security forces, Memorandum of Understanding in Doha with the aim of developing education and training programs, created under Italian guidance, for the Naval Forces of the Emirate of Qatar.

Webuild achieved a 2.1 percent rise. The company announced Thursday that it has signed a partnership agreement with Bologna FC 1909 with exclusive rights until Dec. 31, 2027 "to carry out the further technical feasibility studies and the renovation and redevelopment in EPC, Engineering, Procurement and Construction mode, of the Dall'Ara stadium." The project involves a total investment estimated at EUR200 million.

WIIT closed the session in Friday up 0.5 percent , after it announced Thursday the renewal of a five-year contract for cloud services and cyber security worth a total of about EUR2.6 million. The client is a major Italian multinational company, a leading operator in plastics processing.

GVS, on the other hand, gave up 0.9 percent to EUR5.90 per share, following Thursday evening's 1.3 percent red.

Credito Emiliano closed the session in the red by 0.9 percent. The credit institution reported Thursday that Fitch Ratings revised the outlook on Credem's Long-Term Issuer Default Rating to 'positive' from 'stable' and confirmed the Long-Term Issuer IDR at 'BBB' and the Viability Rating at 'bbb'.

On Small-Cap, Tessellis closed in the green by 3.7 percent after a 3.6 percent loss on Thursday night.

IRCE, on the other hand, picked up 2.4 percent to EUR2.16, following a 4.5 percent decline in the previous session.

Zest closed bearish by 5.0%. The stock-which has been missing the ex-dividend since 2002-was profit taking after four bullish sessions.

Landi Renzo left the parter 3.5% at EUR0.17, a new low in the 52-week frame time.

Among SMEs, NVP strength climbed 3.8 percent-after announcing Friday that it had consolidated revenues of EUR23.4 million in the first nine months of the year, up 20 percent from EUR19.5 million as of Sept. 30, 2023.

Destination Italia, on the other hand, closed upward by more than 14 percent, after launching a new strategic plan to position itself as "The First Glocal Travel Tech," as Milano Finanza writes Friday. This model integrates local tourism content, developed by digitized experts, with proprietary technology with high process automation. The company expects production value between EUR75 million and EUR90 million and Ebitda between EUR3 million and EUR4.5 million by 2025.

Reway Group rallied 2.3 percent. The company reported Thursday that production value was EUR145.2 million in the first nine months. In the third quarter alone, production value reached EUR29 million. Most of the indicator came from the road and highway maintenance and rehabilitation sector with EUR102.9 million and from the railway sector with EUR42.3 million.

Askoll Eva gave up 5.0 percent, following eve's gain of 0.5 percent.

In contrast, H-Farm, also in the rear, gave up 3.3%, veering lower after four sessions closed with a bearish candle.

In Asia, the Hang Seng is up 0.3% to 20,651.10 and the Shanghai Composite picks up 1.2% to 3,310.21, while the Tokyo Stock Exchange remains closed today for Culture Day.

In New York, the Dow closed up 0.7 percent, the Nasdaq finished in the green by 0.8 percent, and the S&P 500 rose 0.4 percent.

Among currencies, the euro changed hands at USD1.0891 from USD1.0847 on Friday in closing European equities. The pound is worth USD1.2984 from USD1.2950 on Friday evening.

Among commodities, Brent crude is worth USD74.45 a barrel from USD73.45 a barrel Friday night. Gold trades at USD2,750.15 an ounce from USD2,744.80 an ounce Friday night.

On Monday's economic calendar, coming in at 0945 CET is Italy's manufacturing PMI, followed by France, Germany and finally Eurozone at 1000 CET.

From the US, coming at 1600 CET is the durable goods and factory orders data.

On the corporate calendar, accounts from Arterra Bioscience, Autostrade Meridionali, Nusco and Riba Mundo Tecnologia are expected.

By Antonio Di Giorgio, Alliance News reporter

Comments and questions to redazione@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2024 Alliance News IS Italian Service Ltd. All rights reserved.