(Alliance News) - Piazza Affari meets forecasts and opens Thursday's session higher, just hours before the European Central Bank makes its monetary policy decision.

"EUR/USD is not far from 1.0460 and today is the ECB, expected at the likely 25 basis point cut. We expect the classic sell on rumors and buy on news with possible upward corrections in the single currency after the decision, provided Lagarde does not prove so dovish that a return to parity with the dollar is possible," said Saverio Berlinzani, senior analyst at ActivTrades.

"Anything is possible. The Swiss franc is stable but there is the SNB this morning and some temporary declines we could also expect, in the 0.9330-40 area. Oceans are still weak, but with recovery attempts in the short term. USD/CAD is stable at 1.4160 after the Bank of Canada cut rates by 50 basis points to 3.25 percent but without remaining overly accommodative for the foreseeable future."

The FTSE Mib is up 0.5 percent to 34,893.55, the Mid-Cap is up 0.2 percent to 48,705.82, the Small-Cap gains 0.3 percent to 28,634.37 and Italy Growth is up 0.6 percent to 7,875.77.

In Europe, London's FTSE 100 opened up 0.1 percent to 8,308.84, Paris' CAC 40 is up 0.3 percent to 7,445.77 and Frankfurt's DAX 40 is up 0.2 percent to 20,432.60.

Pirelli rises 2.1 percent. Camfin, the group's historic shareholder under Marco Tronchetti Provera, is working on a maxi-refinancing to consolidate its position in Pirelli's capital, where it currently holds 26.1 percent.

According to banking sources quoted by Il Messaggero, the operation is being coordinated by Camfin's CEO Giovanni Tronchetti Provera, with the support of a pool of banks led by UniCredit and Intesa Sanpaolo, flanked by Banco BPM, and is being advised by Lazard, Fivers and McDermott.

The plan calls for a three-year refinancing of EUR650 million earmarked for Camfin, Camfin Alternative Assets and Longmarch Italia, companies under the control of the Tronchetti family thanks to special statutory mechanisms.

The resources will be used to optimize the consolidated debt of the three companies, currently around EUR450 million, by reducing its cost and extending its maturity to the end of 2027. They will also allow Camfin to increase its stake in Pirelli to 29.9 percent, a goal announced back in October.

Brunello Cucinelli is also off to a strong start, up 5.3 percent after revising upward estimates for 2024 due to very positive sales.

Sales are expected to increase between 11% and 12%, with a fourth quarter in line with the third. Expected growth for the years 2025 and 2026 is about 10 percent annually.

After the news, Goldman raised its target price on the stock to EUR114.00, confirming its 'buy' recommendation.

Prominent among the many bullish performers are Amplifon, up 1.8 percent, Saipem, up 1.7 percent, and Stellantis, which follows with a 1.6 percent rise at the start.

At the bottom, only a handful of stocks, led by Prysmian, down 0.6 percent.

On the Mid-Cap, Digital Value still recovers, up 7.5% to EUR35.00 per share, with nearly 170,000 pieces traded in a few minutes.

Juventus FC climbs 2.9 percent after its Champions League win against Manchester City that revived the Bianconeri's European ambitions.

Also doing well are Safilo Group and OVS, up 2.4 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively, while on the other side is Buzzi, down 1.2 percent.

On the Small-Cap, Beghelli halts Gewiss' post-OPA run and remains flat at the start of the day while Bastogi's good momentum continues, gaining 6.5 percent at the start of trading.

Also doing well is Bialetti Industrie, up 18% and with over 200,000 shares traded.

AbitareIn rises 0.9% despite weak accounts for the last fiscal year. Sales fell to EUR74.8 million as of September 30 from EUR116.3 million a year earlier, with Ebitda dropping more than half to EUR17.1 million from EUR35.0 million.

Earnings before taxes fell to EUR10.1 million from EUR25.1 million while net income fell sharply to EUR5.8 million from EUR24.3 million.

Net financial debt, on the other hand, rose to EUR89.1 million from EUR38.5 million.

For Luigi Gozzini, president of AbitareIn, "the results of this fiscal year, as is well known, are strongly affected by the urban planning and construction freeze in the City of Milan. We are waiting to see confirmation of the approval of the authentic interpretation rule inappropriately defined as 'Save Milan,' and to understand what the effects and timing will be for the restart of an entire affected sector."

On the alternative capital market of Piazza Affari, there are still few stocks affected by trading. However, Doxee is showing off with a 31 percent rise, followed by IDNTT with an 18 percent increase.

Portobello, up 4.9 percent, and UCapital24 also did well, with the fintech extending recent gains thanks to a 4.6 percent rise.

In Asia, the Nikkei closed Thursday up 1.2 percent to 39,849.14, the Shanghai Composite finished up 0.9 percent to 3,461.50, and the Hang Seng is up 1.2 percent to 20,397.05.

In New York, the Dow closed Wednesday down 0.2 percent to 44,148.56, the Nasdaq was up 1.8 percent to 20,034.90 and the S&P 500 was up 0.8 percent to 6,084.19.

Among currencies, the euro changed hands at USD1.0517 from USD1.0496 on Wednesday in closing European equities. The pound is worth USD1.2767 versus USD1.2752 last night.

Among commodities, Brent crude is worth USD73.80 a barrel from USD73.05 a barrel at Wednesday's close. Gold trades at USD2,717.28 an ounce from USD2,751.44 an ounce last night.

Thursday's macroeconomic calendar opens at 1000 CET, from Italy, with the quarterly unemployment rate; at 1110 CET, also from Italy, BTP auctions with different maturities are scheduled.

In the afternoon, at 1415 CET, eyes are on the European Central Bank's decision on interest rates.

At 1430, from the US, the producer price index is expected. Back in the euro zone, at 1445 CET it is the turn of the ECB press conference and at 1615 CET President Lagarde's speech.

It closes, from the US, at 2230 CET with the Fed's weekly balance sheet.

Among the companies listed in Piazza Affari, no particular announcements are expected.

By Giuseppe Fabio Ciccomascolo, Alliance News senior reporter

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