(Alliance News) - On Tuesday, major European stock markets confirm expectations and open in positive territory, while Milan awaits data on business and consumer confidence.

Thus, the FTSE Mib is up 0.5 percent to 27,369.86, Mid-Cap gains 0.4 percent to 42,077.18, Small-Cap is in the green 0.2 percent to 26,812.43, as is Italy Growth at 9,036.06.

In Europe, Paris' CAC 40 is up 0.7 percent, London's FTSE 100 is up 0.3 percent, and Frankfurt's DAX is up 0.5 percent.

On the main index in Piazza Affari, Saipem takes the top spot and rises 2.2%. The company announced that it has been awarded two new contracts in offshore drilling, one in the Middle East and one in the Mediterranean Sea with a total value of about USD550 million.

Good purchases were also made on ERG, which gained 0.7 percent. The latter, through its subsidiary ERG Hamburg Holding, announced on Friday that it had finalized the acquisition from IBV Solar Parks--a company of the German ib vogt group--of 100 percent of Garnacha Solar, a company that owns a photovoltaic park located in the Castilla y León region of northwest Spain.

At the bottom, there are DiaSorin, Telecom Italia, and Recordati, in a range of 0.6 percent to 0.4 percent decline.

On the Mid-Cap, Maire Tecnimont is flat to start at EUR3.37 per share after it announced that its subsidiaries, part of the Integrated E&C Solutions business unit, Tecnimont and Tecnimont Arabia Limited have been awarded two lump-sum turn-key EPC contracts related to the petrochemical expansion of the SATORP refinery-a JV composed of Saudi Aramco and TotalEnergies-at Jubail in Saudi Arabia.

The petrochemical plant will enable the conversion of refinery gas and naphtha, as well as ethane and natural gasoline, into higher value-added chemicals. The total value of the contracts is about USD2 billion.

Safilo Group gains 1.8 percent. The company said on Monday that, regarding the evaluation of a possible sale of the Longarone plant to potential third parties, negotiations are at an advanced stage with Thelios, a company active in the eyewear sector and belonging to the group.

Iren is flat after it announced Monday that its subsidiary, Iren Green Generation, has signed a contract with European Energy to acquire 100 percent of SPV - special purpose vehicle - Limes 20 Srl, wholly owned by European Energy and holder of the authorization to build a new 20.39 MWp photovoltaic plant on land located in the municipalities of Noto and Pachino, Sicily.

This transaction is part of the commercial agreement, signed in January 2022, which establishes a partnership between European Energy and Iren on a pipeline of 437.5 MWp of photovoltaic projects in Italy.

Salcef Group gains 1.1 percent, after announcing Monday that it has signed a preliminary agreement to acquire 100 percent of the share capital of Colmar Technik, which has been in business since 1963 and at its plants in Arquà Polesine and Costa di Rovigo designs and manufactures machinery for the construction and maintenance of railway lines.

On the Small-Cap segment, Itway rises 2.8 percent, after reporting Monday that KT&Partners began coverage of the company's stock with a 'buy' recommendation.

KT&Partners set the target price at EUR2.01, a potential upside of 58 percent from current market prices.

Somec--not yet affected by trading--reported Monday that its subsidiary Bluesteel has won a new contract worth GBP10.5 million, over EUR12 million at current exchange rates, for a prestigious architectural project in central London.

Mondo TV is up 0.1 percent after announcing Friday the closing of a new licensing agreement for the Gorjuss brand with Coriex. The contract will last until Dec. 31, 2025, and provides for the payment of a new guaranteed minimum and, if the above amount is exceeded, the payment of royalties by the licensee. On all such amounts, Mondo TV will retain its own commission of 30 percent.

Among SMEs, Destination Italia rises 4.6 percent, after it reported on Monday that the group reached the value of about EUR35 million in terms of the order book of tourism bookings in the first 5 months of the year, marking a 150 percent increase over May 31, 2022.

Revo Insurance rises 0.7 percent, after announcing Tuesday that S&P Global Ratings raised its rating outlook from stable to positive and simultaneously confirmed its BBB+ rating.

Circle -- flat at EUR4.92 per share -- announced Monday that it has been awarded, along with 21 other European partners, the eFTI4EU project with a total value of EUR28.3 million. The project for Circle is worth EUR562,500 and has a duration of 36 months.

Star Workshop gains 4.8 percent after it announced Tuesday the signing of a technology development and industrial cooperation agreement with Leonardo Spa and Thales Alenia Space - a 67 percent Thales and 33 percent Leonardo joint venture. The agreement has a 5-year term.

Redelfi -- in the green by 1.9 percent -- and Altea Green Power -- not yet affected by the exchanges -- announced on Tuesday that the process of studying the connection of the Lund Storage Center project under BESS Power Corp, a 65 percent subsidiary of RAL Green Energy Corp, a company equally owned by Redelfi and AGP, has begun.

The study, called the Full Interconnection Study, is being undertaken with the cooperation of Texas independent system operator ERCOT - Electric Reliability Council of Texas Inc - and U.S. utility operator LCRA - Lower Colorado River Authority.

The Full Interconnection Study is expected to be completed by September 2023.

In New York on Monday, the Dow Jones closed fractionally in the red, the S&P gave up 0.5 percent, and the Nasdaq lost 1.2 percent.

In Asia, the Nikkei closed in the red 0.5 percent to 32,5538.33, the Shanghai Composite is in the green 1.2 percent to 3,189.44, and the Hang Seng is up 2.0 percent to 19,163.82.

Among currencies, the euro changes hands at USD1.0934 versus USD1.0912 at Monday's European equities close. In contrast, the pound is worth USD1.2736 from USD1.2719 on Monday evening.

Among commodities, Brent crude is worth USD74.66 per barrel versus USD73.80 per barrel at Monday's close. Gold, meanwhile, trades at USD1,936.95 an ounce from USD1,926.92 an ounce on Monday evening.

On Tuesday's calendar, at 1000 CEST will come data on Italian business confidence levels, and at the same time, ECB number uon Christine Lagarde will give a speech, half an hour after Panetta and before Elderson.

At 1400 CEST, eyes on the U.S. construction premiums, while at 1400 CEST it will be Schnabel of the ECB who will give a speech.

At 1430 CEST, from the U.S., focus on durable goods orders, at 1600 CEST on U.S. consumer confidence, and in the evening, at 2230 CEST on weekly oil stocks.

On the corporate calendar from the Piazza Affari, no particular announcements are scheduled.

By Claudia Cavaliere, Alliance News reporter

Comments and questions to redazione@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2023 Alliance News IS Italian Service Ltd. All rights reserved.