Milan bullish at 25,800; Saipem and Eni good

(Alliance News) - European marketplaces opened the first session of the week higher, helped by hopes of a recovery on the demand side of Chinese goods after the post-pandemic reopening, as well as a Federal Rserve that markets are beginning to price as less "hawkish" at upcoming meetings, with more moderate hikes in key rates.

Markets appear for the most part positioned on a Federal fund rate hike of only 25 bps. In the CME Group platform's FedWatch Tool -- using futures also based on the actual federal funds rate, or EFFR -- the main rate hike for the Feb. 1 meeting sees an increase in probability now at 93 percent on the upper range of 450/475 bps. In contrast, the probability of an increase in the 475/500 bps area is at 7 percent. The current target is between 425 and 450 bps.

The Bank of Japan, on the other hand, is expected to hold an emergency meeting today while it is busy maintaining its new yield ceiling for the 10-year government bond at 0.5 percent.

The FTSE Mib thus advances 0.2 percent to 25,821.13.

In Europe, London's FTSE 100 is rising 0.1 percent, as is Paris' CAC 40 while Frankfurt's DAX 40 is up 0.2 percent.

Among the smaller lists, the Mid-Cap is rising 0.3 percent to 42,144.72, the Small-Cap is up 0.4 percent to 29,343.44, and Italy Growth is up 0.3 percent to 9,520.

On the main list in Piazza Affari, Saipem is off to a good start, rising 2.9% taking the lead.

Parent company Eni, meanwhile, rises 0.6 percent. The Six-legged Dog announced over the weekend a major new gas discovery in the Nargis-1 exploration well in the "Nargis Offshore Area" concession in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, offshore Egypt. The Nargis-1 well, drilled in 309 meters of water by the Stena Forth drillship, encountered about 61 meters of Miocene and Oligocene sandstones containing gas. The discovery may be developed by taking advantage of its proximity to existing Eni infrastructure.

Supporting the good start for the hydrocarbons sector, Snam instead advances 0.2 percent to EUR4.87. On the stock, Deutsche Bank increased its target price to EUR5.20 from EUR5.00.

Among the few declines is Buzzi Unicem, which closes the list in the red by 0.5%.

On the cadet segment, Alerion stretches 3.8 percent bringing its price to EUR32.75 per share.

Webuild -- in the money with 0.3 percent -- reported Monday that U.S. subsidiary Lane was awarded a USD218 million contract to increase capacity and improve mobility and safety at the intersection of Interstate 4 (I-4) and Sand Lake Road (State Road 482) in Orange County, Florida. The intersection is part of the well-known Orlando tourism corridor that connects some of Central Florida's most important attractions, such as Universal Studios, Sea World, and Walt Disney World.

Salvatore Ferragamo also rises, marking a plus 0.5 percent to EUR17.75. On the stock, Bank of America raised the fair value to EUR14.00 from EUR12.00.

In the red is FC Juventus, which gives up 2.8% to EUR0.3226 after the heavy defeat at the hands of Napoli that jeopardizes the Scudetto race.

On the Small-Cap, buying on Giglio.Group, which moves ahead 8.5% and taking the weekly close to 10%.

Also moving on the highs is Brioschi, which puts up plus 3.3% after a 0.3% loss on the eve.

Eukedos, on the other hand, rises 2.8%, pointing to the third session to end on the bullish side.

At the tail end, Bialetti gives up 2.8%, pulling the oars in the boat after two bullish sessions.

Among SMBs, Culti Milano is up 6.3 percent, rebounding from Friday night's 5.1 percent decline.

The buy side also prevails on Iervolino Entertainment, which scores a plus 5.6 percent.

Down, High Quality Food, on the other hand, gives up 3.1 percent and closes the list.

In New York on Friday evening, the Dow closed in the green by 0.3%, the Nasdaq up 0.7%, and the S&P 500 down 0.4%.

Among Asian exchanges, the Nikkei gave up 1.1 percent, the Hang Seng closed just above par, while the Shanghai Composite picked up 1.0 percent.

Among currencies, the euro changed hands at USD1.0807 versus USD1.0818 at Friday's close. In contrast, the pound is worth USD1.2180 from USD1.2199 on Friday evening.

Among commodities, Brent crude is worth USD84.63 per barrel from USD84.43 per barrel Friday night. Gold, on the other hand, trades at USD1,911.25 an ounce from USD1,911.08 an ounce last session.

On Monday, U.S. markets will be closed for Martin Luther King Day while, on the macro front, at 1100 CET, space is given to the ZEW index on sentiment in the Eurozone and Germany. At 1200 CET, we continue with the Eurozone's total asset reserves.

By Maurizio Carta, Alliance News reporter

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