Europeans in the green; Leonardo tops the Mib.

(Alliance News) - Europe's major stock markets closed in the black on Friday, leaving behind a subdued week, with concerns over slowing global demand appearing to weigh more broadly on risk appetite.

"Growing concerns about slowing demand were not helped by Chinese factory price deflation for the sixth consecutive month earlier this week. This has seen copper prices reach their lowest levels this year, and oil prices are on track for their fourth consecutive weekly decline," commented Michael Hewson, Chief Market Analyst at CMC Markets.

"It has not helped the political theater around the U.S. debt ceiling that has dominated the discourse in the media and whose discussions will continue into next week. While the risks around this are well rehearsed, it could be argued that they are also somewhat overstated, given the regularity with which we have witnessed such a scenario in recent years, before a late compromise was reached from time to time."

Thus, the FTSE Mib closes in the green by 0.9 percent at 27,347.32.

On the smaller lists, the Mid-Cap is in the green by 0.4 percent to 43,179.03, the Small-Cap gives up 0.4 percent to 28,191.28 while Italy Growth rises with 0.4 percent to 9,132.27.

In Europe, London's FTSE 100 closes up 0.3 percent, Paris' CAC 40 advances with 0.5 percent as does Frankfurt's DAX 40.

On the Mib, ERG's board of directors on Thursday evening approved consolidated results for the first quarter, which closed with a group net profit of EUR76 million, down from EUR388 million in the first quarter of 2022. The stock closed in the red by 0.4 percent.

Unipol -- in the green by 0.4 percent -- reported Friday that it closed the first quarter with a profit up to EUR284 million from EUR161 million in the same period a year earlier.

In contrast, net income for the first quarter of 2022, calculated using other IFFRS 4 and IAS 39 parameters, was EUR246 million.

Enel closes up 0.2 percent after announcing Friday that the board of directors appointed Flavio Cattaneo as the company's CEO and general manager.

At the top are Leonardo and Pirelli, which garner 4.0 percent and 3.2 percent, respectively.

On the cadet segment, Webuild closes in the green by 1.9%. The company, in consortium with the Ghella and Pizzarotti groups, on Friday won two new contracts totaling EUR3.7 billion for the development of sustainable mobility in southern Italy.

MARR ends in the red by 0.6 percent. Friday announced that it reported total consolidated revenues of EUR426.6 million in the first quarter of the year, up from EUR325.8 million as of March 31, 2022.

Profit came in at EUR1.5 million from a loss of EUR2.9 million in 2022.

Buzzi Unicem ends up 0.2 percent. The company reported that as of March 31, revenues amounted to EUR955.9 million from EUR800.1 million in the same period last year, up about 20 percent.

Iren advances 2.0 percent. On Friday it reported that Fitch revised the company's outlook to 'Positive' from 'Satbile,' and confirmed its 'BBB' rating for both long-term creditworthiness and senior unsecured debt.

UnipolSai rises 0.4 percent after reporting Friday that it closed the first quarter with a profit up to EUR231 million from EUR118 million in the same period a year earlier.

In contrast, net income for the first quarter of 2022, calculated using other IFFRS 4 and IAS 39 parameters, was EUR203 million.

LU-VE, in the black by 3.8 percent, on Friday reported first quarter sales of EUR151.4 million, up 3.9 percent from EUR148.8 million as of March 31, 2022.

Order backlog stands at EUR218.6 million, up 16 percent from the same period in 2022.

Profit is EUR6.8 million from EUR21.4 million as of March 31, 2022.

Carel Industries closes up 1.1 percent after reporting Friday that first-quarter results showed strong growth in revenue and profit compared to the same period last year. Consolidated net income is EUR18.5 million and shows a double-digit increase -- of 13 percent -- from EUR16.4 million as of March 31, 2022. Revenues increased by 25 percent to EUR161.0 million from EUR128.9 million in the same quarter of the previous year.

The board of directors of Alerion Clean Power -- in the green by 1.9 percent -- on Friday said it had reviewed management results as of March 31, in which the company reported total revenues of EUR73.5 million, up 6.7 percent from EUR68.9 million in the first quarter of 2022.

On the Small-Cap side, the board of SAES Getters - in the red by 0.5 percent - approved consolidated results for the first quarter of 2023 on Friday, reporting consolidated net income of EUR5.2 million, almost triple the EUR1.7 million in the first quarter of 2022.

Banca Sistema closes up 1.3 percent. Friday approved consolidated financial statements as of March 31, which closed with a net profit of EUR3.7 million, compared to EUR4.4 million for the same period in 2022. Profit before tax as of March 31, 2023 is EUR5.9 million, down 12 percent year-on-year.

Services Italy ends in the green by 2.2 percent after approving results to March 31, 2023 on Friday, reporting a profit of EUR2.3 million from a loss of EUR300,000 in the first quarter of 2022.

Consolidated revenues are EUR72.6 million up from EUR65.4 million in the same period of 2022.

Digital Bros gives up 8.9 percent and ends up at the bottom. The company reported Thursday that it reported consolidated net revenues of EUR89.2 million in the first nine months, up 7.5 percent from EUR82.9 million as of March 31, 2022.

Immsi advances 1.4 percent after announcing Friday that it improved all key indicators in the first quarter, reporting net income of EUR15.6 million as of March 31, 2023, more than doubling from EUR5.7 million in the same period of 2022.

Consolidated revenues amounted to EUR556.4 million, the highest ever for the period and up 19 percent from EUR467.1 million as of March 31, 2022.

Tessellis--the new Tiscali--reported that it closed 2022 with a net loss of EUR63 million, which compares with the previous year's negative figure of EUR35 million. The stock gives up 3.3 percent in closing.

Among SMEs, Italia Independent flies, rising 34 percent to EUR0.43 per share.

Renergetica closes 6.2 percent in the red after announcing Thursday that it had approved results for the year ending December 31, 2022, which reported a net profit of EUR2.5 million from EUR2.7 million a year earlier and a value of production of EUR10.9 million from EUR11.9 million in 2021.

At the bottom ends Fenix Entertainment, which closes 18 percent in the red.

In New York, the Dow gives up 0.2 percent, the S&P is giving up 0.3 percent, and the Nasdaq is in the red by 0.5 percent.

Among currencies, the euro changes hands at USD1.0856 versus USD1.0911 at Thursday's close. In contrast, the pound is worth USD1.2460 from USD1.2503 last night.

Among commodities, Brent crude is worth USD74.50 per barrel compared to USD75.74 per barrel on Thursday evening. Gold, on the other hand, trades at USD2,016.00 an ounce from USD2,023.00 an ounce last night in closing European equities.

On Monday's macroeconomic calendar, at 0800 CEST will come Germany's wholesale price index and at 0830 CEST the Swiss consumer price index while at 1100 CEST will come out Eurozone industrial production and EU economic forecasts.

At 1430 CEST, wholesale sales from Canada will come out and at 1730 CEST, U.S. Treasury bond auctions will be held.

In Piazza Affari, several quarterly results are expected including Esprinet, Interpump Group, Eurotech, FILA and GVS.

By Chiara Bruschi, Alliance News reporter

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