Europeans close up; Saipem tops on Mib.

(Alliance News) - European stock exchanges close on a positive note, Thursday, with U.S. markets initially acting as a drag, before rising following comments by House Republican Kevin McCarthy that a debt ceiling deal could be reached by next week.

"On this basis, the assumption is gaining ground that the melodrama unfolding in Washington D.C. is simply a piece of political theater, and that eventually a deal will happen, as it has on so many previous occasions," commented Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets.

Thus, the FTSE Mib closed up 0.1 percent at 27,235.650.

Among the smaller listings, the Mid-Cap closed up 0.1 percent to 43,117.15, the Small-Cap closed down slightly to 27,942.01, and Italy Growth ended in the red 0.3 percent to 9,105.58.

In Europe, London's FTSE 100 closed in the green by 0.3 percent, the CAC 40 finished up 0.6 percent, and Frankfurt's DAX 40 finished the day up 1.3 percent.

Also in the early afternoon, the U.S. Department of labor reported that the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits dropped to 242,000 in the week ended May 13, down from an 18-month high of 264,000 and below market expectations of 254,000.

"The U.S. data released today will do little to change opinions about the country's economic situation at this time. The unemployment claims data indicate greater resilience than expected, but the trend remains higher and is likely to accelerate. While manufacturing surveys can be noisy, as we saw with the Empire State earlier this week, overall the sector remains weak and represents only a small part of the U.S. economy."

On the Mib, Saipem -- in the green by 3.3 percent -- announced Thursday that it has been awarded two new offshore contracts, one for an Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Installation project in the Black Sea and one for decommissioning activities in the North Sea.

The total value of the contracts is about USD850 million.

Doing better is only STMicroelectronics, which ends up 3.5 percent.

Also doing well is Stellantis, which closes up 3.3 percent after announcing Wednesday that sales in April increased, following the positive trend in the performance of the European market, where registrations grew 17 percent.

As shown Wednesday by data from ACEA, the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association, the merged giant of PSA Groupe and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles reported an 8.2 percent increase in sales in April, having registered 169,022 cars compared to 156,167 in February 2022, with market share, however, falling to 17.5 percent from 18.8 percent in 2022.

Mediobanca -- in the green by 0.9 percent -- on Thursday signed a strategic agreement with Arma Partners LLP and US Arma Partners LP strengthening itself in the Digital Economy. Under the terms of the deal, Mediobanca will acquire Arma to create a leading Digital Economy franchise within its Corporate & Investment Banking division.

Eni -- in the red by 0.4 percent -- disclosed Wednesday that it had purchased 980,441 of its own shares on May 12.

The shares were taken over at an average price per share of EUR13.3065, for a total value of EUR13.0 million.

On the Mid-Cap, Tamburi Investment Partners - in the green by 0.1 percent - announced that on Thursday it acquired 50.7 percent of Investindesign Spa, a company that currently holds 48.7 percent of the capital of Italian Design Brands Spa, whose shares have been listed since this morning on Euronext Milan, a regulated market organized and managed by Borsa Italiana Spa.

MFE's A and B shares are the best on the list, with rises of 7.3 percent and 7.2 percent respectively.

On the other hand, Salcef Group and Ascopiave fared badly, closing 3.1 percent and 2.3 percent in the red.

On the Small-Cap, SIT closes in the red by 10% after approving Thursday its results as of March 31, 2023 reporting consolidated revenues of EUR83.6 million down 11% from EUR93.8 million in the first quarter of 2022.

On the other side of the list is Itway, which finishes on top with 6.1%. The company on Friday disclosed that as of March 31, the group's operating revenues amounted to EUR10.7 million, increased from the same period last year to EUR9.4 million, due to the good performance of 4Science and Itway and the maintenance of revenues and increased profitability of the Greek and Turkish subsidiaries.

Cellularline - on parity at EUR2.93 per share - announced the creation of an operating hub in the Jebel Ali Free Zone, Dubai, in order to better serve the Middle East area, drastically reducing delivery times, facilitating operations and improving service quality.

Among SMEs, Prismi closed up 62 percent. On Wednesday evening it disclosed that the board of directors accepted a binding proposal for investment in the company received from Medigest SA, Area 62 Srl and Tendercapital Alternative Funds PLC. Consequently, discussions related to its execution have been initiated.

Italian Design Brands finished in the green by 2.9 percent. The company landed on Thursday on the Milan Stock Exchange after a EUR70 million IPO that would reach EUR80.5 million if the over-allotment is exercised.

The free float is about 24 percent, with market capitalization of the Italian furniture and quality design hub being EUR293 million.

Italia Independent is doing well, closing up 25 percent.

Innovatec closes 4.0% in the red after announcing Thursday that the sub-holding company Haiki+ Srl, active in the environment and circular economy business, has obtained permits from the relevant provincial authorities for the construction of a plant for plasterboard waste treatment and recovery activities at the group's plant located in Lodi and for the expansion of the non-hazardous industrial waste plant located in Albonese (PV).

Ilpra ends in a tie. It announced Thursday that it has acquired a 68 percent stake in IDM Automotion.

The transaction involves the purchase, in full from Domenico Cicchetti and Gianpietro Migliorini and for a 19 percent stake from Marco Cicchetti, of a total stake equal to 68 percent of the share capital for a consideration of approximately EUR1.5 million, which was paid in cash today through the use of available financial resources.

In New York, the Dow is down 0.1 percent, the Nasdaq is rallying 1.2 percent, and the S&P 500 is advancing 0.5 percent.

Among currencies, the euro changes hands at USD1.0777 against USD1.0834 at Wednesday's close. In contrast, the pound is worth USD1.2425 from USD1.2482 last night.

Among commodities, Brent crude is worth USD76.04 per barrel versus USD76.50 per barrel on Wednesday evening. Gold, meanwhile, trades at USD1,955.41 an ounce from USD1,981.99 Wednesday night.

Friday's macroeconomic calendar opens with the GfK index of May consumer confidence in the United Kingdom scheduled for 0101 CEST.

In Japan, the consumer price index is expected at 0130 CEST and the German producer price index is expected at 0800 CEST.

At 1300 CEST the Spanish consumer confidence index is due out.

At 1700 CEST, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's speech is expected while at 2100 CEST ECB President Christine Lagarde will speak.

In Piazza Affari, the results of Lifestyle Group, Olidata and Innovatec are expected.

By Chiara Bruschi, Alliance News senior reporter

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