(Alliance News) – On Thursday, hours after the European Central Bank’s rate announcement and the release of Eurozone inflation and Italy’s trade balance, major European stock markets continued to move into positive territory.
Thus, the FTSE Mib is in the green by 0.9% at 34,981.25, the Mid-Cap is in the green by 0.5% at 47,285.75, the Small-Cap is up by 0.3 % at 28,375.54, and Italy Growth is on the threshold of parity at 8,215.82.
In Europe, London’s FTSE 100 is 0.4% in the green, Paris’ CAC 40 is up 1.0% and Frankfurt’s DAX 40 is up 0.7%.
In macroeconomic news, the euro zone’s annual inflation rate stood at 1.7% in September, revised from a previous rate of 1.8%, and down from the rate of 2 .2% recorded in August.
A year earlier, the rate was 4.3%.
Also in the euro zone, the first estimates of the euro zone trade balance show a surplus of 4.6 billion euros for trade in goods with the rest of the world in August, compared to 4.8 billion euros in August 2023.
Exports of goods from the Eurozone to the rest of the world amounted to 216.7 billion euros in August, down 2.4% compared to August 2023, when they stood at 222.0 billion euros.
Imports from the rest of the world amounted to 212.1 billion euros, down 2.3% compared to August 2023, when they amounted to 217.2 billion euros.
In Italy, Istat reported on Thursday that Italy’s trade balance in August was a surplus of 1.43 billion euros, compared to 6.81 billion euros in July.
Last year, the surplus was 1.95 billion euros for the same month.
The energy deficit narrowed to 4.12 billion euros, compared to 4.56 billion euros a year earlier. The non-energy trade surplus goes from 6.52 billion euros in August 2023 to 5.55 billion euros this year.
Back in Milan, on the Mib, Poste Italiane is still doing well, remaining in the lead since opening and gaining 2.8%. The company announced Thursday that it had started, with the MEF, the procedure with Consob for the approval of the prospectus of the share offering by the Treasury itself, following the approval of the decree of the Prime minister of September 17.
The company recalled that this procedure has been temporarily interrupted pending decisions and ongoing evaluations concerning the terms and timetable of the offer.
The session was also good for Banco BPM, which rose 2.3%, aiming to close its seventh session in surplus.
Stellantis rose 0.3%, but the company learned that Moody’s had downgraded its outlook from stable to negative due to the global slowdown and stagnant demand for electric vehicles.
Regarding Telecom Italia, at the threshold of parity at 0.25 euros per share, the new Sparkle could see a solid public majority with the Ministry of Finance at 70%, while Asterion would have 30%, as written today Il Sole 24 Ore.
Among the bears, only Inwit is observed, down 0.5%.
On the midcap side, Digital Value rebounded by advancing more than 13% after heavy losses in previous sessions due to the ongoing investigation. The company announced on Wednesday that Massimo Rossi received in the evening his irrevocable resignation with immediate effect from the position of director, in addition to the resignation as president and CEO previously sent.
For its part, Sesa – in the green by 1.4% – announced that it was not involved in the investigation involving Digital Value, as reported in press articles.
Sesa says it is focusing on strategic areas other than Digital Value, in which it holds a minimum stake of 3.6% through DV Holding Spa, acquired for 4 million euros in 2018.
The Digital Value activities under investigation are not strategic for Sesa, which has mainly invested in consulting, systems integration and vertical applications for the Corporate and Enterprise segment.
Maire lost 1.6 percent to 7.86 euros per share. As Milano Finanza writes on Thursday, in view of the third quarter results expected on October 24, which should be in growth, Jefferies confirmed its ‘buy’ rating and its target price at 10 euros, but in the best case scenario, the target price is set at 12 euros.
In particular, as the financial newspaper recalls, regarding the quarterly report, Jefferies expects a 10% increase in revenue compared to the previous quarter to 1.502 billion euros, just below the estimate of consensus of 1.538 billion euros, thanks to the advancement of the Hail & Ghasha E&C project, with a further growth of 20% in revenues in the fourth quarter of 2024.
d’Amico International Shipping – in the green by 0.4% – announced on Wednesday that its operating subsidiary, d’Amico Tankers DAC, has exercised a purchase option for the MT High Leader, a medium-range tanker with a gross capacity of 49,999 tonnes, built in Japan in 2018. The purchase cost is approximately USD 34.3 million and delivery is planned between the second and third quarter of 2025.
On the small-cap side, Aeffe is up 1.6 percent. The company announced Tuesday the appointment of Lorenzo Serafini as creative director of the Alberta Ferretti brand.
Lorenzo Serafini, who joined the Aeffe group in 2014 as creative director of the Philosophy di Lorenzo Serafini brand, succeeds the brand’s founder, Alberta Ferretti, who announced her retirement from the catwalk last September.
Among the holders was Softlab, down 3.9%. SIT fell 2.4%, while KME Group fell 2.3%.
Among SMEs, Circle – stable at 8.00 euros – announced on Thursday that it had been selected as a partner of the SEMAS-EMSWe project. With allocated funding of 245,000 euros, Circle will help modernize European maritime transport infrastructure by simplifying and harmonizing digital reporting across seven EU member states, the company explained in a note.
Allcore – down 1.9 percent – announced on Wednesday evening that it had decided to issue an unsecured, non-convertible bond of up to 2.0 million euros called “Allcore Bond 2024 2033” .
In New York last night, the Dow Jones rose 0.8%, the Nasdaq 0.3% and the S&P 500 0.5%.
In Asia, the Nikkei lost 0.7%, the Shanghai Composite closed in the red (1.1%), while the Hang Seng fell 1.0%.
Among currencies, the euro traded at $1.0859 from $1.0900 as European markets closed, while the pound was trading at $1.2991 from $1.3086 late Wednesday.
Among commodities, Brent traded at USD 74.52 per barrel compared to USD 74.07 per barrel at the close of European markets on Wednesday. Gold, meanwhile, is trading at USD 2,695.10 per ounce compared to USD 2,672.18 per ounce on Wednesday evening.
Thursday’s macroeconomic calendar includes the ECB’s economic policy decision, scheduled for 1415 CEST, followed by the press conference of its president, Christine Lagarde, half an hour later.
In the United States, attention will focus on unemployment claims and retail sales, expected at 2:30 p.m. CEST. US industrial production will be released at 155 CEST, while crude oil inventory data will be released at 1700 CEST. The day will end with the publication of the Fed balance sheet at 2230 CEST.
By Claudia Cavaliere, journalist at Alliance News
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