(Alliance News) - Piazza Affari continued to rise in mid-session Tuesday, driven again by oil stocks and Telecom Italia, on the upswing after news of the Economy Ministry's investment in the network together with U.S. fund KKR.

Pierre Veyret, technical analyst at ActivTrades, said, "European equities are up Tuesday, extending the bullish sentiment seen during the Asian session ahead of this week's key data. Most benchmarks are trading significantly higher in the Eurozone, led by real estate, basic materials and energy stocks, while investors welcomed China's latest announcement that it is committed to providing further stimulus measures to its economy."

However, this wind of relief from the World's second largest economy could represent the calm before the storm as traders prepare for a crucial week on the macro data front, according to the analyst.

"In addition to today's U.S. consumer confidence data, investors are likely to focus on U.S. unemployment growth, PCE data and the highly anticipated August NFP release on Friday. In addition, volatility against European equities is expected to remain high as investors await Eurozone inflation data to get more clues on the future of monetary tightening from the European Central Bank."

"With lingering questions about monetary policies, many investors may be tempted to make significant changes to their portfolio exposure to riskier assets, depending on the tone provided by this week's data set."

The FTSE Mib is up 0.5 percent to 28,680.74, the Mid-Cap is up 0.4 percent to 41,806.32, the Small-Cap gains 0.2 percent to 27,093.76, and Italy Growth is up 0.5 percent to 8,906.75.

In Europe, London's FTSE 100 is up 1.3 percent to 7,437.11, Paris' CAC 40 is up 0.2 percent to 7,337.64 and Frankfurt's DAX 40 is up 0.3 percent to 15,839.26.

On the blue chip list, Telecom Italia did well, continuing to gain ground with a 0.5 percent rise. The Italian government gave the go-ahead Monday evening for a stake of up to EUR2.2 billion in Telecom Italia's fixed-line network through a joint bid with U.S. investment fund KKR.

Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said the Council of Ministers approved a decree granting the state the funds to take a stake of up to 20 percent in the network. The stake, "up to EUR2.2 billion," will allow Italy to play a role in "what we consider a decisive infrastructure for the country's future," Giorgetti told reporters.

The agreement signed in early August with KKR called for the Economy Ministry to take a minority stake in TIM's future company, combining the fixed-line network and submarine cable subsidiary.

Also up is Saipem, best on the list with a 2.2 percent rise. The company received formal notification of the finalization of the Golfinho transaction between BW Energy and Petrobras, under which BW Energy acquired 100 percent of the exploitation rights to the Golfinho field.

Under the MOA, the consideration to be paid by BW Energy to Saipem for the sale of the FPSO is USD73 million, of which USD38 million upon the finalization of the Golfinho transaction and UD35 million in 18 monthly installments following the transfer of the unit. The completion of the Golfinho transaction was a condition precedent for the sale of the FPSO, which currently operates at full production capacity, and for the initial consideration payments.

Eni rises 0.7 percent after reporting Monday that it has started oil and gas production from the Baleine field in the deep waters of Côte d'Ivoire. This milestone comes less than two years after its discovery in September 2021 and less than a year and a half after the final investment decision. It is the first zero-emission production project-Purpose 1 and 2-in Africa.

The other oil-related company, Tenaris, also travels higher, up 1.2% to EUR15.33 per share.

Banca Generali rises 0.2% after a down start, despite Deutsche Bank cutting its recommendation to 'hold' from 'buy'.

On the Mid-Cap, Saras continues the bullish oil trend already seen on the Mib and gains 2.9%. On the stock, WorldQuant revised its short position to 0.69% from 0.73% previously.

On the buyback front, Anima Holding rises 0.1% after announcing it bought back EUR2 million worth of its own shares; Webuild gives up 0.2% after buying back EUR30,000 worth of shares; and Tamburi is up 0.4% after buying back more than 18,000 shares.

Good day for fashion, with Brunello Cucinelli expected to release first-half data today, which is up 1.8%, Salvatore Ferragamo is up 0.7%, and Tod's is up 0.5%.

On the Small-Cap, Itway gives up 0.9 percent. The company reported on Friday that its subsidiary 4Science continued its upward trend during the first half of the year, recording 117% growth in orders compared to the first half of 2022, reaching an order value of more than EUR1.2 million.

On the opposite side of the list is Olidata, rising 7.7 percent. The company announced Monday that it was awarded a 30% RTI contract worth more than EUR30 million.

Olidata explained that the framework agreement concerns the awarding related to the supply, maintenance and management of upgrades to Sogei's Data Connectivity Switches for the next 36 months.

Among SMEs, VNE rises 3.2 percent after announcing Monday that it has signed directly and through its subsidiary VNE Renting, five new contracts for the supply of products and services inherent to the gaming sector for a total value of EUR540,000.

Almawave rises 9.5 percent after it announced Monday evening that it and Microsoft Italy signed an agreement aimed at promoting generative artificial intelligence in Enterprise applications to optimize data management and content navigation.

Circle gains 1.8 percent. The company signed a contract with another leading port in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. The value of the order is approximately EUR135,000 and the duration of the assignment is 9 months.

In Asia, the Nikkei closed up 0.2% at 32,226.97, the Shanghai Composite rose 1.2% to 3,135.89, and the Hang Seng gained 2.0% to 18,484.03.

Last night in New York, the Dow Jones closed up 0.6 percent to 34,559.98, the Nasdaq rose 0.8 percent to 13,705.13 and the S&P 500 finished up 0.6 percent to 4,433.31.

Among currencies, the euro changed hands at USD1.0807 versus USD1.0809 in Monday's European equities close while the pound was worth USD1.2605 from USD1.2587 on Monday evening.

Among commodities, Brent crude is worth USD84.85 per barrel versus USD84.53 per barrel at Monday's close. Gold, meanwhile, trades at USD1,922.80 an ounce from USD1,923.91 an ounce on Monday evening.

On Tuesday's economic calendar, at 1200 CEST, the European Commission's economic forecast will be released.

At 1600 CEST, from the US, will come the new jobs JOLTs while, at 2230 CEST, it will be the turn of weekly oil stocks.

By Giuseppe Fabio Ciccomascolo, Alliance News senior reporter

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