(Alliance News) - Piazza Affari closed higher in the first session of the week as traders wait for the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank to comment on monetary policy in the coming days.

Chris Beauchamp, Chief Market Analyst at IG, said, "Friday's sell off was countered by a wave of buying by investors as the VIX fell sharply. The drop in the chances of a rate hike by 50 basis points suggests that a calmer attitude prevails among investors despite the series of weaker employment data from the U.S."

"Much now depends on the inflation report, especially since Friday's payrolls report failed to provide much new information on the U.S. economy."

The FTSE Mib closed Monday up 0.9 percent to 33,590.34, the Mid-Cap was up 0.7 percent to 45,689.06, the Small-Cap gained 0.5 percent to 28,424.17, and Italy Growth was up 0.5 percent to 7,918.60.

In Europe, London's FTSE 100 closed up 1.0%, Paris' CAC 40 rose 1.0% and Frankfurt's DAX 40 gained 0.7%.

On the Mib, Intesa Sanpaolo, Unipol, and Banca Popolare di Sondrio led the gains among financial stocks, with gains between 1.4 percent and 2.6 percent.

Banca Mediolanum gained 1.3 percent after publishing its August trading results of EUR665 million on Friday. Of these, total net inflows amounted to EUR486 million and EUR6.82 billion since the beginning of the year.

DiaSorin--up 2.1 percent--reported Monday the launch of the new Liaison S. pneumoniae Antigen immunodiagnostic test in all countries accepting CE marking as an aid to the diagnosis of pneumococcal pneumonia infection, a severe community-acquired pneumonia.

"The launch of this new test confirms our positioning as a specialty player, providing innovative solutions with high clinical value," commented Chen Even, Chief Commercial Officer of Diasorin.

"We are confident that the new test will be able to help discriminate etiological factors in severe community-acquired pneumonia, ensuring broader decision-making in antibiotic administration and management."

Best of all, however, did Campari, up 3.6 percent to EUR8.22 per share and with more than 3.5 million pieces changed hands during the session.

On the Mid-Cap, Banca Generali--up 1.4 percent--reported Monday that it achieved net inflows of EUR378 million in August, up 53 percent from the corresponding month last year, when it was EUR247.0 million.

Since the beginning of the year, inflows amount to EUR4.24 billion compared to EUR3.97 billion in the same period of 2023.

Acea, up 1.2 percent, announced Monday that it had won a tender worth an estimated EUR1.2 billion for the management, in Sicily, of about 2,000 kilometers of water network, about 1,300 kilometers of sewer network, 166,000 water users, or 390,000 inhabitants served.

The planned investments in the tender amount to EUR366 million, the company specified in a note.

Salvatore Ferragamo gave up 2.8 percent, ending on the bottom. Barclays cut target price to EUR6.87 from EUR7.19 with 'underweight' title.

At the top, however, were Juventus FC and Anima Holding, up 5.7 and 4.1 percent, respectively.

Among the smallcaps, Landi Renzo gained 5.4 percent after announcing Friday that it closed the first half with a consolidated net loss of EUR18.5 million, an improvement from that of EUR20.9 million as of June 30, 2023.

In the six-month period, consolidated revenues amounted to EUR139.1 million from EUR151.8 million in the first half of 2023.

Valsoia closed up 1.7 percent after announcing on Monday that it closed the first half of the year with profit up to EUR4.1 million from EUR3.7 million as of June 30, 2023.

Total sales revenue for the period was EUR58.0 million from EUR55.8 million in the first half of 2023. Ebitda as of June 30 was EUR7.0 million from EUR6.1 million in 2023.

Bologna's Guglielmo Marconi Airport -- down 0.8 percent -- after it reported Thursday that passengers in August came in at 1.1 million, up 5.6 percent on the same month in 2023.

Surpassing July's level, August becomes the month with the highest number of passengers in the airport's entire history.

Seco -- up 2.4 percent -- announced Monday the release of Clea OS, an embedded Linux framework, as a new component of the Clea software stack.

"Clea OS represents a significant advancement in the development of IoT solutions, enabling developers and organizations to create and deploy innovative IoT infrastructures more efficiently and effectively," the company points out in a note.

Among SMEs, Racing Force is up 6.9 percent after announcing Monday that it has received the first order to manufacture LIFT Airborne Technologies' Next Generation Fixed-Wing Helmet carbon shells for the U.S. Air Force.

For Racing Force, this is the effective start of sales of equipment for the defense sector, a milestone in its plans to diversify as the group aspires to export to other sectors the skills and technology acquired at the top of motorsport.

Dexelance -- down 2.5 percent -- reported Monday that it closed the first half of the year with revenues of EUR151.0 million, up from EUR135.4 million in the same period last year.

The half-year ended with a net profit of EUR1.0 million compared to EUR5.8 million in 2023. Adjusted net income was EUR6.8 million, also down from the full adjusted net income figure of EUR12.3 million as of June 30, 2023.

In New York, the Dow is up 1.0 percent to 40,758.32, the Nasdaq is up 0.5 percent to 16,765.29, and the S&P 500 gains 0.6 percent to 5,441.86.

Among currencies, the euro changes hands at USD1.1042 versus USD1.1106 in Friday's European equities close while the pound is worth USD1.3080 from USD1.3148 on Friday evening.

Among commodities, Brent crude is trading at USD71.28 per barrel versus USD71.50 per barrel at Friday's European stock close. Gold, on the other hand, trades at USD2,497.35 an ounce from USD2,542.40 an ounce on Friday evening.

Tuesday's macroeconomic calendar opens with Japan's money supply, due at 0130 CEST, and continues with China's trade balance, due at 0500 CEST.

At 0800 CEST, focus on British employment and German inflation while Spanish industrial production data-expected at 0900 CEST-will anticipate Italian data by an hour.

EU economic forecasts will be released at 1100 CEST while OPEC's monthly report will be released two hours later.

In the afternoon, eyes will be on EIA energy estimates while the day will close at 2230 CEST with weekly oil stocks.

Among the companies in Piazza Affari, the accounts of B&C Speakers, Gas Plus, Italian Sea Group, TXT e-solutions and Unidata are expected.

By Giuseppe Fabio Ciccomascolo, Alliance News senior reporter

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