(Alliance News) - Major European stock markets are expected to open near parity on Tuesday, according to IG futures as investors prepare for key central bank decisions this week.

Chances are increasing that the Bank of England will cut interest rates Thursday, although the choice remains very limited. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve is expected to hold rates steady, while the Bank of Japan could make another rate hike.

The FTSE Mib is expected to rise 0.2 percent or 57.5 points after closing down 0.5 percent at 33,640.83

In Europe, London's FTSE 100 is expected down 0.1 percent or 6.7 points, Paris' CAC 40 is expected to open just below par and Frankfurt's DAX 40 is expected up 0.1 percent or up 15.2 points.

On the macro front, it is reported that preliminary data released Tuesday by INSEE showed that the French economy expanded by 0.3 percent in the second quarter, equal to the upwardly revised figure for the first quarter but above market estimates of 0.1 percent.

This was the strongest quarterly growth pace since the second quarter of 2023.

Among Italy's smaller listings last night, the Mid-Cap lost 1.0 percent to 47,224.55, the Small-Cap gave up 0.6 percent to 28,957.37, and Italy Growth fell 0.1 percent to 7,988.59.

On the Mib, Campari closed down 2.9 percent and Nexi lost 2.1 percent, making them the worst performers in the blue chip basket.

STMicroelectronics was among the few bullish performers with a 1.1 percent gain. Leonardo did better with a 1.4% rise.

Terna fell 0.9 percent after reporting Friday that it closed the first half with a profit of EUR544.8 million from EUR411.4 million in the first half of 2023. Revenues amounted to EUR1.75 billion, up 18 percent from EUR1.49 billion in the first six months of 2023.

Tenaris, down 0.6 percent, reported Monday that between July 22 and 26 it bought 827,733 shares at an average price of EUR14.4272 for a total consideration of EUR11.9 million.

DiaSorin closed at a breakeven after announcing Monday that it closed the first half of the year with an adjusted net profit of EUR120 million from EUR113 million as of June 30, 2023.

Revenues in the period stood at EUR589 million from EUR576 million in the first half of 2023. Adjusted Ebitda as of June 30 amounted to EUR198 million from EUR190 million a year earlier, while adjusted Ebit was EUR153 million from EUR144 million in 2023.

With an eye to the future, the company said it has improved guidance, with post-Covid revenues growing between 6 percent and 7 percent and adjusted Ebitda margin of about 33 percent.

Among the bearish, Brunello Cucinelli was down 1.4 percent.

On the Mid-Cap, Zignago Vetro closed up 8.0 percent after finishing the previous session in the red by 7.5 percent. On Friday, it disclosed that it closed the first half of the year with net income down to EUR26.3 million from EUR74.6 million as of June 30, 2023, marking a 65 percent drop.

For the six-month period, revenues stood at EUR329.0 million from EUR384.8 million, down 15 percent from the first half of 2023.

Iren gave up 0.9%. The company reported Friday that the Fitch agency confirmed Iren's long-term credit rating at "BBB" and the same rating is also given to senior unsecured debt.

On Monday, meanwhile, the utility reported that net income for the first half of the year increased by 2 percent year-on-year to EUR145.2 million from EUR143.0 million in the same period a year earlier, aided by an increase in the tax rate.

Consolidated revenues as of June 30, 2024 stood at EUR2.70 billion, down 16 percent from EUR3.21 billion in the first half of 2023. The main factors for the decline in revenues are related to energy revenues, which were influenced by more than EUR320 million by lower commodity prices that are being normalized after the energy crisis in recent years, and about EUR48 million by lower consumption and climate effects.

Cementir Holding rose 0.2 percent after closing the first half with group net income of EUR97.0 million, up 7.4 percent from EUR90.3 million as of June 30, 2023.

In the six-month period, revenues stood at EUR811.8 million, down 3.4 percent from EUR840.7 million in the first half of 2023. EBITDA was EUR192.7 million, down 3.9 percent from EUR200.5 million in 2023.

The company said it confirmed its Ebitda and NFP targets on a like-for-like basis for the current year, while it revised its 2024 revenue guidance to EUR1.7 billion from EUR1.8 billion and in line with 2023.

Webuild gained 1.8 percent after reporting Monday that its U.S. subsidiary, Lane, was awarded a contract worth about USD208 million for modernization work at Naval Air Station Oceana, a U.S. Navy air base in Virginia.

On the Small-Cap, CY4Gate closed up 1.9 percent at EUR6.32 per share. On Friday, it announced that it had signed the closing for the purchase of an additional 15.33 percent of DIATEAM.

This is a French company specializing in the design, development and implementation of advanced systems for testing, validation and training in the cyber security domain, for government and corporate clients, for which CY4Gate will come to hold 70.66 percent of its share capital.

Among SMEs, Monnalisa fell 5.4 percent. The company reported that it closed the first half of the year with revenues at EUR18.9 million, down 13 percent from EUR21.9 million in the same period last year.

Pharmacosmo lost 4.3 percent after reporting that the group had revenues of EUR32.4 million in the first half of the year, down nearly 12 percent from the same period a year earlier. The decrease was mainly caused by the B2B channel.

Fervi closed at a breakeven after ending the first half with revenues of EUR29.1 million from EUR29.5 million as of June 30, 2023.

The Consolidated Net Financial Position was negative EUR6.3 million, worse than the March 31 figure when it was negative EUR5.8 million due to the payment of the dividend resolved by the shareholders' meeting.

Making its Piazza Affari debut after a EUR17.7 million IPO, Misitano & Stracuzzi closed its first day of trading up 3.8 percent.

In Asia, the Nikkei is in the fractional red, the Hang Seng gives up 1.4 percent and the Shanghai Composite is down 0.7 percent.

In New York on European night, the Dow dropped 0.1 percent, the Nasdaq closed just above par as did the S&P 500.

Among currencies, the euro changed hands at USD1.0820 versus USD1.0823 in Monday's European stock close while the pound was worth USD1.2845 from USD1.2854 on Monday night.

Among commodities, Brent crude is trading at USD79.47 per barrel from USD80.84 per barrel at Monday's close. Gold, on the other hand, trades at USD2,388.32 an ounce from USD2,389.71 an ounce on Monday evening.

Tuesday's macroeconomic calendar features Spanish inflation at 0900 CEST. At 1000 CEST, eyes on Italian GDP while from Germany will come GDP and inflation.

An hour later, the calendar offers Eurozone GDP and Eurozone consumer and business confidence.

In the afternoon, from the U.S., focus on house prices, due out at 1500 CEST, and consumer confidence, coming an hour later, along with new jobs JOLTs. Weekly oil stocks will be released at 2230 CEST.

Among Piazza Affari companies, results from Amplifon, A2A, Campari, Fincantieri, Fineco, Intesa, Inwit, Leonardo, and Recordati, among others, will arrive.

By Chiara Bruschi, Alliance News reporter

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