(Alliance News) – Major European stock markets continued to trade in negative territory on Thursday as action is taken on new monetary policy decisions from the Fed and BOJ and pending the decision of the BoE.
Thus, the FTSE Mib lost 1.4% to 33,929.73, the Mid-Cap 1.5% to 47,221.45, the Small-Cap 1.1% to 27,978.28, and Italy Growth 0 .6% to 7,798.76.
London’s FTSE 100 fell 1.3%, Paris’ CAC 40 lost 1.5% and Frankfurt’s DAX 40 lost 1.0%.
On the most capitalized list in Piazza Affari, Saipem was in the green, up 1.2%. The company announced the appointment of Luca Caviglia as Chief Financial Information Officer, responsible for sustainability reporting.
Mr. Caviglia retains responsibility for Saipem’s accounting and administrative function, within the finance department headed by Chief Financial Officer Paolo Calcagnini.
The second and last stock in the green, Unipol, also performed well, posting a gain of 0.8%.
Among the bearish stocks, Telecom Italia fared worst and fell 6.2%. The company announced Thursday that it had received a firm offer to purchase Sparkle from the Ministry of Economy and Finance and Retelit, a company controlled by the Asterion fund.
As noted in a note, the proposal confirms an enterprise value of 700 million euros for Sparkle and will be valid until January 27.
STMicroelectronics is down 5.5%, while Nexi is down 3.5%. Sesa – in the red by 9.8% in the Mid – announced Thursday that it had signed a binding agreement to buy, through its subsidiary Base Digitale Group, the Capital Markets software solutions business unit sold by Nexi Payments, “with which it further strengthens the partnership already in place,” according to a company note.
The business unit generates annual revenues of around 3.8 million euros, with a scope of around 10 human resources and a client base made up of some of the largest Italian banks.
Iveco Group – in the red by 2.7% – reported that Iveco Bus, the urban, intercity and touring coach brand of the Iveco Group, has signed a five-year framework agreement with BusGruppe, the consortium comprising Verkehrsbetriebe Bachstein, CeBus, KVG Stade, Omnibusbetrieb von Ahrenschildt, Pülm Reisen and Reisebüro Schmidt, to provide up to 580 urban buses, of which 250 are entirely electric.
The total value of the agreement is estimated at 235 million euros.
Enel drops 2.1%. The company announced on Wednesday that the board of directors has authorized the issuance, by December 31, 2025, of one or more non-convertible bonds in the form of subordinated hybrid securities, including perpetual bonds, in an amount maximum total of 2 billion euros.
The securities will be placed exclusively with European and non-European institutional investors, including through private placements.
Stellantis sales – down 1.9% – declined in November in Europe, similar to the European market, where registrations fell 1.9%.
As data from ACEA, the Association of European Automobile Manufacturers, showed on Thursday, the merger of PSA Groupe and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles recorded an 11% drop in market share, which fell to 13.5% in November, compared to 14.8% in the same month of the previous year.
Amplifon – down 1.7% – said it had signed a new 75 million euro sustainability-related loan with Mediobanca, down 2.1%.
On the mid-cap side, MAIRE lost 1.2%. The company announced on Wednesday that it had renewed its Euro Commercial Paper program to issue one or more series of notes, increasing the maximum nominal amount from €150 million to €300 million.
As per the program launched in 2021, the ECP program will be placed with qualified investors and will not be rated. It will have a duration of three years and a maximum nominal amount of 300 million euros.
Credito Emiliano – in the red by 1.1 percent – reported on Wednesday that the European Central Bank had informed it that the banking group had significantly exceeded its capital requirements. The main parameter used to measure the solidity of a bank is the ‘Pillar 2 Requirement’, which for Credem is equal to 1%, is “the best in Italy and Europe”, writes the published note.
Iren fell 0.4% after announcing on Wednesday that it had appointed Selina Xerra as the new manager in charge of certifying sustainability reports from the current financial year.
On the small cap side, Giglio Group fell 6.6%. It is worth mentioning that on Wednesday the company announced that it had become a member of Confagricoltura, the oldest organization representing Italian agricultural companies, and of the Consorzio Agrario Provinciale di Ancona. Together, they created ConfagriMarket, an innovative marketplace dedicated to products and equipment for the agricultural sector.
doValue – with a loss of 4.2% – announced on Tuesday that the 373,020 unexercised option rights had been sold, which made it possible to subscribe for around 3.25 million new shares. During the offering period, some 166.9 million new shares, or 98.1% of the total, were subscribed.
Landi Renzo is stable at 1.78 EUR per share. The company announced on Wednesday that the capital increase of 40.7 million euros had been completed.
Among SMEs, SolidWorld Group – in the green by 2.1% – and Vection Technologies, listed on the Australian Securities Exchange and also traded on the American over-the-counter markets, announced on Thursday that they had entered into a strategic partnership of three years, valid from January 1, 2025, which aims to integrate advanced artificial intelligence and extended reality technologies.
Laboratorio Farmaceutico Erfo – down 3.4 percent – announced on Thursday that it had decided to launch a share buyback program.
In detail, the program involves the purchase of a maximum of 500,000 shares, will begin on December 20 and end on June 20, 2025.
In Asian stock markets, the Hang Seng fell 0.6%, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.4% and the Nikkei fell 0.7%.
In New York, the Dow closed 2.6% lower overnight in Europe, while the Nasdaq fell 3.6% and the S&P 500 fell 3.0%.
Among currencies, the euro traded at $1.0412 from $1.0470 at the close of European stock markets on Thursday. The pound is worth 1.2647 USD against 1.2692 USD on Thursday evening.
Among raw materials, a barrel of Brent is worth 73.46 USD against 73.98 USD at Thursday’s close. Gold is trading at $2,634.69 per ounce compared to $2,633.80 per ounce late Thursday.
Thursday’s macroeconomic calendar includes the announcement of the Bank of England’s interest rate decision at 1300 CET.
In the United States, at 1430 CET, the focus will be on GDP and unemployment claims. The publication of the Fed’s weekly balance sheet will close the day at 2230 CET.
By Claudia Cavaliere, journalist at Alliance News
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