(Alliance News) - On Wednesday, major European indexes closed in negative territory for another day as oil prices fell despite a drop in U.S. stocks.

"August has always been considered a difficult month for stocks. So far, the reaction to the U.S. debt downgrade seems to be a further boost to this old market adage. Although there is not much news in the downgrade itself, it appears to have been the trigger for a broader sell-off. With weaker data and earnings hitting sentiment, stocks look ripe for a correction in August," commented Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG.

"Today's crude oil trend seems to have the classic 'buy the rumors, sell the facts' tone. Demand seems to be on a good upswing, if today's inventory data are any indication, but with the U.S. downgrade affecting risk appetite across the board, traders don't seem inclined to tempt fate further in the near term."

In detail, U.S. crude oil inventories fell by 17.0 million barrels in the last week of July, the largest drop since records began in 1982, and far more than market expectations of a 1.4 million drop, according to the Energy Information Administration's weekly report released Wednesday.

Thus, the FTSE Mib closed down 1.3 percent to 28,974.54, the Mid-Cap down 0.3 percent to 42,413.61, as did the Small-Cap to 26,934.00 and Italy Growth to 9,012.77.

In Europe, London's FTSE 100 ends down 1.4 percent, as does Paris' CAC 40 give up 0.9 percent and Frankfurt's DAX 40.

On the main index in Piazza Affari, Iveco Group takes the top spot with an 8.7 percent gain, after closing the first half with a net profit of EUR160 million compared with EUR21 million in the same period last year.

Pre-tax profit rose to EUR245 million from EUR72 million while operating income increased to EUR245 million from EUR134 million.

Revenues rose to EUR7.58 billion from EUR6.42 billion a year earlier, with cost of sales up to EUR6.30 billion from EUR5.55 billion and selling, general and administrative expenses up to EUR483 million from EUR443 million.

Ferrari -- in the red by 0.3 percent -- said it reported very good half-year results, so much so that it decided to revise upward its full-year guidance.

In detail, net revenues came in at EUR2.90 billion, up 17 percent from EUR2.47 in the same period last year.

Adjusted net income stood at EUR631 million from EUR490 million as of June 30, 2022, up 29%.

Still trailing is Nexi, down 2.9 percent after publishing consolidated financial results as of June 30, reporting normalized group earnings of EUR295.0 million with normalized earnings per share of EUR0.22, up 8.0 percent year-on-year.

Nexi reported revenues that stood at EUR1.57 billion, up 8.1 percent from the same period last year.

On the Mid-Cap, the board of directors of Technogym -- down 1.5 percent -- today reviewed and approved the consolidated half-year financial report as of June 30, which closed with a consolidated net profit of EUR28.4 million compared to EUR23.4 million in the same period a year ago. Adjusted group profit was EUR28.1 million, up EUR3.1 million from EUR25.0 million in the first half of 2022.

Revenues were EUR370.0 million from EUR325.2 million in the first six months of 2022.

The board of directors of Anima Holding -- in the green by 6.0 percent -- announced Wednesday that it had approved the report for the six-month period ended June 30, with negative net inflows of EUR200 million, net of Branch I insurance proxies.

Net income stood at EUR63.2 million, up 6 percent from EUR59.4 million in the same period last year.

The board of directors of EuroGroup Laminations -- in the green by 7.3 percent -- announced that it had approved the half-year financial report as of June 30, 2023, which closed with a net profit of EUR18.8 million compared to EUR22.0 million in the same period of 2022.

During the first six months of 2023, revenues were EUR453.8 million, up 6.1 percent from the same period in 2022, when they were EUR427.8 million.

The board of directors of Tinexta, which closes in the green by 0.3 percent, approved the half-year financial report as of June 30, which closed with a net profit of EUR45.4 million compared to EUR14.2 million in the same six-month period of 2022.

Revenues for the first half of the year amounted to EUR182.5 million, up 8.6 percent from last year, with positive growth contributions from all business units.

On the Small-Cap segment, Esprinet, down 0.8 percent, announced Wednesday that it had concluded the purchase of 100 percent of the capital of Sifar Group, a company under Italian law active since 2012 in B2B distribution of spare parts, components and accessories for mobile phone and tablet products.

The portion of the consideration agreed at the closing, amounting to EUR9.3 million, was paid in full in cash and using available resources.

Class Editori - in the red by 2.3 percent - reported that net debt rose to EUR30.3 million as of June 30 from EUR21.8 million at the end of 2022.

Piquadro closed 2.8 percent in the red after announcing Wednesday that it had decided to kick off a buyback plan of up to 1.0 million of its own ordinary shares.

Among SMEs, Alfonsino -- down 1.0 percent -- reported Wednesday that it reached a new milestone with the acquisition of 104 new restaurants on its platform during July.

This achievement marked a significant 30 percent increase over the previous record, when 80 entries were recorded in October 2022.

MeglioQuesto, up 1.4 percent, announced that it has appointed Francesco Tam as the group's new Chief Financial Officer.

In New York, at the height of trading Wednesday, the Dow is down 0.7 percent, the Nasdaq is down 2.0 percent, and the S&P 500 gives up 1.2 percent.

Among currencies, the euro changes hands at USD1.0935 versus USD1.0963 in Tuesday's European stock close while the pound is instead worth USD1.2700 from USD1.2760 last night.

Among commodities, Brent crude is worth USD83.36 per barrel versus USD84.92 per barrel at yesterday's close. Gold, meanwhile, trades at USD1,970.85 an ounce from USD1,980.25 an ounce last night.

Thursday's economic calendar opens at 0150 CEST in Japan with data on foreign investment in equities, while at 0230 CEST comes data on the services PMI.

At 0345 CEST in China, the purchasing managers' index for the services sector is released.

In Europe, at 0800 CEST German exports and the services sector purchasing managers' index for Germany are published.

At 0845 CEST in France, the government budget is published.

From 0915 CEST to 1030 CEST the composite indices and purchasing managers' indices for the services sector in Spain, France, Italy, Germany, the Eurozone and the United Kingdom are published.

In detail, retail sales are released at 1000 CEST in Italy.

At 1100 CEST the producer price index for the Eurozone is released.

At 1300 CEST the Bank of England's decision on interest rates is expected.

Overseas, at 1430 CEST come the continuing unemployment claims, while at 1545 CEST it is the turn of the composite PMI and purchasing managers' index data for the services sector.

Among the companies listed in Piazza Affari, results from Ariston Holding, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, BFF Bank, Buzzi Unicem, illimity Bank and Salvatore Ferragamo, among others, are expected.

By Claudia Cavaliere, Alliance News reporter

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