Mib bullish ahead of ECB; STM and Nexi soar

(Alliance News) - The Mib closed the session higher Wednesday, bringing the point bar just above the 34,500 area, thanks to positive sentiment in the trading rooms ahead of the ECB's monetary policy decision, which is expected to make its first rate cut since 2016 on Thursday.

Indeed, Frankfurt is in action to begin a round of interest rate cuts -- still uncertain in number and scope -- ahead of the Federal Reserve, as inflation in the euro area has cooled faster than in the US.

In the CME Group platform's FedWatch Tool, using futures also based on the actual federal funds rate or EFFR, the confirmation of the rate at the June meeting has a 100 percent probability for confirmation in the 525/550 bp range.

For the July meeting, futures indicate a rate of a 25 bps cut of 17 percent and around 65 percent for September.

In Milan, the FTSE Mib rose 0.7 percent to 34,507.84, Mid-Cap closed up 0.8 percent to 47,923.64, Small-Cap gained 0.4 percent to 29,416.97, and Italy Growth closed in the green 0.4 percent to 8,209.34.

In Europe, London's FTSE 100 closed up 0.3 percent, Paris' CAC 40 rose 0.9 percent, and Frankfurt's DAX 40 closed up 0.9 percent.

On the Mib, boost on STMicrolectronics, which rose 3.1% to EUR40.23 per share, on its fifth session with a bullish candle.

Nexi, on the other hand, picked up 2.2% after the eve closed just below par.

Enel advanced 1.1 percent with new price at EUR6.81 per share, after a 0.2 percent decline on eve.

A2A, on the other hand, advanced 1.1 percent. The company reported that it has issued a EUR750 million green-use hybrid subordinated perpetual bond of proceeds. The company reported demand of EUR2.9 billion for the issue, which was about four times the amount offered. The bond, placed at an issue price of 99.460 percent and featuring a non-call period of 5.25 years, will have a perpetual maturity and pay a fixed annual coupon of 5.000 percent until the first reset date scheduled for Sept. 11, 2029.

UniCredit gained 0.9 percent after issuing a EUR1 billion senior non-preferred bond with a maturity of four years but callable after three. In addition, the bank issued another EUR1 million senior non-preferred bond with a 10-year maturity. Both transactions are aimed at institutional investors. The issuance followed a book-building process that garnered total demand of about EUR5 billion and with more than 300 orders from investors globally.

Among the bearish-listed minority, Banca Popolare di Sondrio gave up 1.8 percent, in its third bearish candle session.

FinecoBank, on the other hand, gave up 0.8 percent to EUR14.41 following its previous two sessions with a negative balance. On the stock, Deutsche Bank Research downgraded its recommendation to 'sell' from 'hold' with a target price of EUR13.40.

On the Mid-Cap, MFE positioned itself with its class A shares leading the list, rising 4.1 percent to EUR3.30. This share class has increased its share price by more than 38 percent since the beginning of the year, with a 30-day VWAP of EUR3.05. On Wednesday, at the press conference "Mediaset, the TV season September 2023 - May 2024," Pier Silvio Berlusconi, CEO of MFE-MediaForEurope, commented on the group's advertising revenue performance for the first half of 2024, estimating a 6 percent growth over the same period in 2023.

Strength also on Philogen, which advanced 2.9 percent to EUR21.10 per share, after 4.7 percent on eve. The stock had previously come from seven sessions in a row with a bullish candle.

Piaggio, on the other hand, gave up 0.6 percent. Yesterday, the Court of Cassation declared inadmissible the appeal by Peugeot Motocycles and Peugeot Motocycles Italia against the judgments of the Court of Appeal and the Court of Milan, which had found that Piaggio had infringed a European patent in the production of the Peugeot Metropolis vehicle.

Credem - down 0.4 percent to EUR9.46 - announced Tuesday that, in connection with press reports about the business related to contracts with merchants for the management of Pos and ancillary services, after a selection process involving leading groups operating in the sector, the company granted Worldline an exclusive negotiation period.

Ariston Holding, on the other hand, gave up 2.0 percent, in the aftermath of the 5.5 percent green.

Among the smallcaps, Eems gave up 9.2 percent, following its 6.4 percent drop in the eve. A high trading volume of nearly 560,000 was recorded on the stock, compared with a three-month daily average of about 119,000.

doValue, on the other hand, declined 4.2 percent to EUR2.22, following a 2.1 percent green in the previous session. The stock since the start of 2024 has posted a negative that goes over 33 percent, with this year's low recorded in March at EUR1.79.

Boost on Somec, which appreciated 2.6 percent to EUR15.90 after two sessions in a downtrend. The stock-which paid its last dividend in 2022-signs a minus 43 percent since the beginning of the year.

For Seri Industrial, on the other hand, the gain was 5.5 percent, after a 2.3 percent decline in the previous session.

Among SMEs, Emma Villas moved up 15 percent, on its third session closed with a positive balance.

For iVision Tech, on the other hand, the rise was 1.5 percent, following the 3.2 percent surplus of the previous session.

Elsa Solutions gave ground with 4.8 percent, veering downward after two sessions of appreciation.

For FAE Technology, on the other hand, the liability was 9.9% at EUR3.91 per share.

In New York at Tuesday's close, the Dow gained 0.4 percent to 38,711.29, the Nasdaq rose 0.2 percent to 16,857.05, and the S&P 500 was up 0.2 percent to 5,291.34.

Among currencies, the euro changed hands at USD1.0869 from USD1.0879 on Tuesday in closing European equities while the pound was worth USD1.2776 from USD1.2782 last night.

Among commodities, Brent crude is trading at USD77.96 per barrel from USD77.10 per barrel at Tuesday's close. Gold, on the other hand, trades at USD2,356.07 from USD2,325.84 an ounce from USD2,341.10 an ounce on Monday evening.

Thursday's macroeconomic calendar includes at 0930 CEST the Italian construction PMI, followed at 1000 CEST by retail sales.

At 1100 CEST, retail sales data will be available from the Eurozone.

At 1415 CEST, meanwhile, there will be the ECB's announcement on interest rates with the usual press conference thirty minutes later.

From the US, at 1430 CEST coming up is the unemployment claims data, while at 2230 CEST the Federal Reserve's weekly balance sheet will be released.

Among companies, no particular announcements are expected.

By Maurizio Carta, Alliance News reporter

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