(Alliance News) - European markets opened trading Thursday with no clear direction-after the positive trend seen last night on Wall Street-while good corporate results and expectations of interest rate cuts by central banks continued to support investor confidence.

Of note, Boston Fed President Susan Collins said the central bank is carefully assessing the evolving data and outlook and that Eccles Building remains well-positioned, adding that it will be appropriate to begin easing policy later this year.

Markets currently discount a less than 20 percent probability of a Fed rate cut in March, down sharply from the two-thirds probability observed earlier in the year.

The FTSE Mib, therefore, is marking a 0.2 percent rise to 30,024.20.

In Europe, London's FTSE 100 is advancing just above par, Paris' CAC 40 is flat, and Frankfurt's DAX 40 is giving up 0.1 percent.

Among the smaller lists, the Mid-Cap is advancing 0.4 percent to 45,527.57, the Small-Cap is advancing 0.2 percent to 27,439.93 while Italy Growth is marking a fractional red.

On the main list of Piazza Affari, good start for Nexi, which brings the bar up 2.5 percent on the heels of last night's more modest 0.1 percent rise.

Good buying also on Stellantis, which moves up 1.3% to EUR21.94 after racking up two assets in the previous two sessions.

BPER Banca -- down 0.7 percent -- reported Wednesday that it ended 2023 with a year-on-year increase in net income, prompting the institution to raise its proposed dividend. Last year's net profit was EUR1.55 billion, up from EUR1.47 billion in 2022, with the bank's board proposing to pay a dividend of EUR0.30 compared to EUR0.12 paid a year earlier.

Telecom Italia -- in the red by 0.1 percent -- said Wednesday that the board of directors examined the offer received from the Ministry of Economy and Finance for the purchase of Sparkle and, "having deemed it unsatisfactory," mandated CEO Pietro Labriola to negotiate with the MEF a different option, "with possible adjustments to the contractual conditions, on the assumption that TIM maintains a stake in the company for a certain time frame and supports the implementation of the strategic plan," the statement said.

In addition, the board continued activities in preparation for the presentation of a majority list for the renewal of the board, which will take place at the shareholders' meeting called to approve the 2023 budget.

On the Mid-Cap,Saras advances well, marking a plus 2.8 percent, in its third bullish session.

Technogym, meanwhile, advances 1.8 percent to EUR9.29 per share.

Anima Holding -- up 1.4 percent -- reported Wednesday that it achieved negative net inflows from assets under management of EUR470 million in January, which compares with positive inflows of EUR34 million in January 2022. Total assets under management exceed EUR191 billion against EUR182.4 billion in January 2023, up 4.8 percent.

Seco, on the other hand, is giving up 0.9 percent with price at EUR.82 per share, following a 6.9 percent decline in the eve.

On the Small-Cap, good start for Il Sole 24 Ore, which leads the price up 3.2% on new price at EUR0.71.

Aquafil, on the other hand, stretches 2.9%, after the eve's red with 1.0%.

Mondo TV - flat EUR0.23 - announced Wednesday that it has reached an agreement with Yamato Video for the distribution in Italy of some material from its library.

Tail of the list for Piquadro, which marks a minus 2.8%.

Among SMBs, Convergenze moves ahead 5.6 percent, following a 2.1 percent red in the previous session.

Farmacosmo -- up 0.2 percent -- announced Thursday that it has signed a binding agreement to sell a 67 percent stake in Innovation Pharma Srl. Innovation Pharma is 67% owned by Farmacosmo and 33% owned by G&Ph Holding Srl. Innovation Pharma controls 100 percent of GPharma1 Srl, 100 percent of GPharma2 Srl and 67 percent of Farmacia De Leo Srl.

In a still uneventful list, Circle instead advances 3.2 percent to EUR6.50 per share, while Estrima is picking up 2.4 percent.

In New York on Wednesday, the Dow rallied 0.4%, the Nasdaq closed up 1.0%, and the S&P 500 closed bullish by 0.8%.

Among Asian exchanges, the Nikkei rallied 2.1 percent, the Shanghai Composite marked green by 1.3 percent, while the Hang Seng gave up 1.3 percent.

Among currencies, the euro changed hands at USD1.0774 against USD1.0764 recorded at Wednesday's European stock close while the pound is worth USD.2627 from USD1.2631 last night.

Brent crude is worth USD79.43 per barrel versus USD78.89 per barrel at Wednesday's close. Gold, on the other hand, trades at USD2,029.89 an ounce from USD2,039.06 an ounce Wednesday night.

On Thursday's economic calendar, from the U.S., eyes will be on jobless claims, due at 1430 CET, and the Federal Reserve's balance sheet, due out at 2230 CET.

Throughout the day, several central bank members will speak: Dhingra from the Bank of England, Elderson and Lane from the ECB, and Barkin from the Fed.

Among the companies in Piazza Affari, the results of Banca Generali, Mediolanum, BPM, Credem, Mediobanca and other smaller-capitalization listed companies are expected.

By Maurizio Carta, Alliance News reporter

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