(Alliance News) - On Monday, Piazza Affari closed bullish in the first session of the week, setting the bar at 29,500 points, with European stock markets that did not show unambiguous direction closing mixed.

On the domestic front, Moody's on Friday left Italy's sovereign debt rating at Baa3, one level above "junk," but upgraded the outlook from "negative" to "stable," with most analysts expecting the agency to leave both the rating and outlook unchanged.

Moody's had rated the euro zone's third-largest economy with a "negative" outlook in August last year following the collapse of the government and amid the energy crisis.

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Thus, the FTSE Mib closed up 0.2 percent to 29,541.90, the Mid-Cap advanced 0.4 percent to 41,891.25, the Small-Cap advanced 0.4 percent to 26,034.0, and Italy Growth rose 0.8 percent to 7,779.03.

London's FTSE 100 gave up 0.1 percent, Paris' CAC 40 rose with 0.2 percent, and Frankfurt's DAX 40 closed 0.1 percent in the red.

On the main list of Piazza Affari almost entirely tinged with green, Saipem closed in the high quarters with a 2.4 percent gain. The company announced Monday that it has launched a repurchase offer aimed at holders of the EUR500.0 million bond with a coupon of 2.625 percent and maturity on Jan. 7, 2025. The offer is aimed at optimizing the financial structure and reducing debt.

Good buying also on Amplifon, which moved ahead 2.4% to EUR28.17, on the heels of Friday evening's 1.9% gain.

Banco BPM - up 1.0% - announced Friday evening that it had completed a new issue of a EUR300 million Additional Tier 1 capital instrument with perpetual maturity and callable "callable" from year five. At the same time, the bank announced an offer to repurchase a perpetual bond with a total outstanding nominal amount of EUR300 million.

Also a buying session for Monte dei Paschi, which rallied 0.7 percent, rearing its head after two bearish sessions.

Generali -- down 1.2 percent -- reported Friday that it ended the first nine months with a net profit of EUR2.82 billion, nearly double the EUR1.46 billion in the same period a year earlier. JPMorgan cut its target price to EUR22.00 from EUR22.50 with a 'neutral' rating. In contrast, adjusted net income rose to EUR2.98 billion from EUR2.30 billion while adjusted earnings per share increased to EUR1.93 from EUR1.46.

Iveco Group also had a bearish trend, contracting 0.4 percent after Friday night's 0.9 percent gain.

On the Mid-Cap, Seco brought home a 5.3% gain, following up Friday night's gain, albeit by a more modest 0.7%.

Boost also on Antares, which closed with a 6.7 percent bullish candle after a six-session downtrend.

Saras, on the other hand, picked up 2.1 percent, bringing the price to EUR1.45 and following up Friday night's 2.1 percent gain.

Anima Holding rallied 0.2 percent after announcing that it has signed a binding agreement to acquire 100 percent of Kairos Partners SGR from parent Kairos Investment Management. The maximum consideration agreed for the sale "is equal to the capital surplus - currently estimated between EUR20 and EUR25 million - with respect to the company's minimum supervisory requirements, subject to possible adjustment depending on the performance of assets under management following the signing of the agreement," Anima specified in a statement.

MutuiOnline Group, on the other hand, gave up 6.3 percent, following the 1.2 percent decline in the previous session.

On a negative note - a trend in the minority on this list as well - Industrie de Nora left 2.1 percent on the parterre after a 2.5 percent gain in the previous session.

On the Small-Cap, Immsi closed up 2.3 percent on the heels of the 1.6 percent appreciation of the previous close.

Gefran, on the other hand, picked up 1.9 percent, following a 0.1 percent decline on Friday night.

Olidata closed up 0.9 percent. The company on Saturday announced that through its subsidiary Sferanet Srl, it was awarded the framework agreement - lot 2 - with Terna worth EUR9 million related to the "Supply of Rack Servers and ICT Services. Sferanet will support Terna with technologies and services aimed at consolidating and updating ICT infrastructures, confirming one of the key points of the company's vision: investing in digital through projects dedicated to the Energy world and its evolution.

CY4Gate - up 1.4 percent - announced Monday that it has signed a contract for a cyber security research and innovation activity with a major national high-tech company. The supply has a value of EUR700,000 for the duration of six months and will involve a team of the company's highly qualified resources to undertake an initial phase of study and research on the protection of interconnected networks and sensors.

Among the bearers, Caleffi gave up 1.3 percent after a 1.9 percent loss on the eve.

Among SMEs, Energy closed up 28 percent for the fourth session on the green side of the list.

Innovatec, on the other hand, rallied more than 10 percent, following up on the previous session's 4.1 percent gain. The company on Friday reported that it closed the first nine months of the year with revenues down to EUR149.9 million compared to EUR222.3 million for the same period in 2022. The decrease, the company explained, reflects the reduction of the 110 percent ecobonus business as a result of the regulatory and financial stop& go that occurred starting in the second half of 2022.

Bellini Nautica, on the other hand, raised the bar 7.5 percent after a 2.4 percent loss in the previous session.

Circle -- in the green by 0.8 percent -- reported Friday evening that its consolidated production value for the first nine months was EUR9.3 million, up 27 percent from the first nine months of 2022 when it was EUR7.4 million.

IMD International Medical Devices, on the other hand, closed down 1.2 percent to EUR1.28 per share. On Friday, the board of directors approved the forecast figure as of Dec. 31, predicting consolidated sales of EUR36 million to EUR38 million, down from EUR41.8 million as of Dec. 31, 2022.

In New York, the Dow is advancing 0.3 percent, the Nasdaq is advancing 0.7 percent, and the S&P 500 is in the green by 0.4 percent.

Among currencies, the euro changes hands at USD1.0941 against USD1.0881 recorded in Friday's European stock close while the pound is worth USD1.2496 from USD1.2422 on Friday evening.

Among commodities, Brent crude is worth USD82.86 per barrel from USD79.86 per barrel at Friday's close. Gold, on the other hand, trades at USD1,974.01 an ounce from USD1,981.25 an ounce Friday night.

Tuesday's macroeconomic calendar at 0800 CET includes data on car registrations in Italy, Germany and France. At 1115 CET, Bank of England Governor Bailey's speech is expected.

In the afternoon, at 1600 CET, the housing sales report arrives from the US, while at 2000 CET the FOMC minutes from the latest monetary policy meeting will be published.

Among companies, Solutions Capital Management's nine-month results are expected.

By Maurizio Carta, Alliance News reporter

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