(Alliance News) - European stock markets headed for a bullish opening Tuesday, following Wall Street's gains and extending the previous session's gains amid easing concerns over the possible victory of right-wing parties in the upcoming French parliamentary elections.

Markets also await the Bank of England's policy decision on Thursday, which is expected to hold rates steady at 5.25 percent before cutting them in August, according to analysts.

Thus, the FTSE Mib-after closing up 0.7 percent at 32,908.05 last night-is marking a positive balance of 237.50 points.

In Europe, London's FTSE 100 is advancing 47.00 points, Paris' CAC 40 is up 56.60 points, and Frankfurt's DAX 40 is marking a surplus of 123.00 points.

On Monday, among the smaller lists, the Mid-Cap finished in the green by 0.6 percent at 46,643.54, the Small-Cap gained 1.0 percent to 28,532.00 while Italy Growth picked up 0.1 percent to 8,058.36.

On the blue chip list last night, Leonardo closed in the green by 2.9% followed by the major banks: Banca Popolare di Sondrio, UniCredit, and BPER Banca finished with gains between 2.6% and 1.9%.

UniCredit and Cassa Depositi e Prestiti on Monday let it be known that it continues with two new tranches directed to six Italian SMEs and Mid-Caps and for EUR42 million the Basket Bond ESG program in favor of growth plans of companies active in strategic sectors of the Italian economy.

Unipol and Poste Italiane also did well, up 2.6 percent and 1.6 percent.

Pirelli -- in the green by 1.2 percent -- reported Friday that S&P Global Ratings revised its rating on the company, confirming its investment grade BBB- rating and improving the outlook from "stable" to "positive." In explaining the reason for the upward revision of the outlook, "the agency stressed that Pirelli is well positioned to deliver on its business plan for 2024-2025, has solid cost discipline and a strong positioning in High Value tires that allows it to generate stable operating cash flow with a consequent reduction in leverage," as the company explained in a note.

Tenaris--up 0.6 percent--reported that it has completed the third tranche of its USD1.2 billion buyback plan and initiated the fourth. During the third tranche, the company bought back 18.1 million of its own ordinary shares with a total value of USD300 million. To date, the company holds 34.4 million of its own ordinary shares, accounting for just under 3.0 percent of its share capital.

ERG, on the other hand, sold 4.8% and ended up in the fund. Of note, BofA initiated coverage on the stock with an 'underperform' recommendation and EUR23.00 target price.

Assicurazioni Generali - up 0.9% - on Monday announced the appointment of Cécile Paillard as Group Chief Transformation Officer, effective September 2 and reporting directly to General Manager, Marco Sesana.

On the Mid-Cap, Fincantieri closed 1.7 percent in the red after news broke in the morning regarding the death of Chairman Claudio Graziano. The former Defense Chief of Staff reportedly committed suicide, according to initial reconstructions provided by press outlets.

Worse did The Italian Sea Group, in the red by 2.2 percent, and Carel Industries, down 2.1 percent.

Leading the list was Moltiply Group, in the green by 3.5 percent, while MFE's B shares closed up 2.2 percent.

For Lottomatica, the gain was 0.6 percent, after pushing up to EUR10.65. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on the stock with a 'neutral' rating and setting a target price of EUR12.45.

On the Small-Cap, CY4Gate - up 0.3 percent - reported on Monday that it had signed contracts worth a total of around EUR1.7 million through one of its subsidiaries for the renewal and evolution of solutions in decision intelligence in foreign markets.

EEMS finished up 17 percent followed by Newlat Food and Fiera Milano, in the green by 12 percent and 8.3 percent respectively.

Among SMEs, Innovatec -- in the green by 0.3 percent -- on Monday reported that Haiki+, a subholding company of the Environment and Circular Economy business unit, has subscribed through its subsidiary Haiki Recycling for a capital increase reserved for it in IGERS, a company active in the recycling of scrap and waste from the textile circuit.

The transaction, the countervalue of which at this stage is about EUR700,000 - fully subscribed and paid in today - is aimed at providing the financial, technical and operational resources so that the first integrated plant in Italy for the recycling of textile scraps and waste aimed at recovering natural and synthetic fibers to be put back into the production circuit will see the light of day, the company explained in a note.

Energy--in the red by 0.5 percent--reported Monday that recent acquisitions had resulted in the creation of the Energy Group, a full system technology manufacturer and leading provider of Battery Energy Storage Systems and cloud and engineering services.

Bellini Nautica closed up 43% and brings the price to EUR3.22 per share, followed by Aton Green Storage, which gained 15% to EUR6.25 per share.

In New York on European night, the Dow rallied 0.4 percent, the Nasdaq closed ahead 1.0 percent, and the S&P 500 rallied 0.8 percent.

Among the Asian exchanges, the Nikkei advanced 1.0 percent, the Shanghai Composite marked plus 0.2 percent, while the Hang Seng was in the red by 0.4 percent.

Among currencies, the euro changed hands at USD1.0732 from USD1.0718 in Monday's European stock close while the pound is worth USD1.2697 from USD1.2684 last night.

Among commodities, Brent crude is trading at USD84.09 per barrel from USD83.50 per barrel at Monday's close. Gold, on the other hand, trades at USD2,321.13 an ounce from USD2,312.84 last night.

Tuesday's macroeconomic calendar includes, at 1100 CEST the ZEW index of sentiment on the German economy and that on the Eurozone, along with the general consumer price index for the euro area.

At 1430 CEST, from the US, retail sales are expected followed at 1515 CEST by industrial and manufacturing production.

No special events are expected in the Piazza Affari.

By Maurizio Carta, Alliance News reporter

Comments and questions to redazione@alliancenews.com

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