(Alliance News) - At mid-day Tuesday, major European stock markets moved below parity, with the Mib holding up slightly instead.

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said Tuesday that it is "unlikely" that policymakers will declare interest rates to peak any time soon in the fight against stubbornly high inflation, and promised another hike in July.

Inflation in the euro area, therefore, is too high and is set to remain so for too long, the ECB president explained during the ECB Forum on Central Banking in Sintra, Portugal.

Thus, the FTSE Mib is up 0.2 percent to 27,293.07, the Mid-Cap gives up 0.1 percent to 41,852.26, the Small-Cap is in the red 0.4 percent to 26,652.16, and Italy Growth loses 0.2 percent to 9,001.24.

In Europe, Paris' CAC 40 is in the fractional red as is London's FTSE 100 while Frankfurt's DAX gives up 0.1 percent.

On the macro front, consumer confidence in Italy in June, according to data Istat released Tuesday, increased recording a high since February 2022 while business confidence declined for the second consecutive month placing itself at the lowest level since last December.

In detail, consumer confidence rose to 108.6 from 105.1 in May, while the composite index of business confidence fell to 108.3 from 108.6 in the previous month.

On the main index in Piazza Affari, Poste Italiane is up 1.2 percent. Some banking stocks also do well, with BPER Banca rising 1.4% and Banco BPM and UniCredit in the green by 1.3% and 1.0%.

Saipem picks up 0.2% after announcing that it has been awarded two new contracts in offshore drilling, one in the Middle East and one in the Mediterranean Sea with a total value of about USD550 million.

ERG gives up 0.2 percent. Through its subsidiary ERG Hamburg Holding, it announced on Friday that it had finalized the acquisition from IBV Solar Parks--a company of the German ib vogt group--of 100 percent of Garnacha Solar, a company that owns a photovoltaic park located in the Castilla y León region of northwest Spain.

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At the bottom, there are DiaSorin, Telecom Italia and Iveco Group, all giving up between 1.6 percent and 1.0 percent.

On the Mid-Cap, Maire Tecnimont gives up 0.8 percent, after announcing that its subsidiaries, part of the Integrated E&C Solutions business unit, Tecnimont and Tecnimont Arabia Limited were awarded two lump-sum turn-key EPC contracts related to the petrochemical expansion of the SATORP refinery-a JV composed of Saudi Aramco and TotalEnergies-, in Jubail, Saudi Arabia.

The petrochemical plant will enable the conversion of refinery gas and naphtha, as well as ethane and natural gasoline, into higher value-added chemicals. The total value of the contracts is about USD2 billion.

Safilo Group gains 0.2 percent. The company said Monday that in connection with the evaluation of a possible sale of the Longarone plant to potential third parties, negotiations are at an advanced stage with Thelios, a company active in the eyewear sector and belonging to the group.

Iren is flat after it announced on Monday that its subsidiary, Iren Green Generation, has signed a contract with European Energy to acquire 100 percent of SPV - special purpose vehicle - Limes 20 Srl, a wholly owned subsidiary of European Energy and holder of the authorization to build a new 20.39 MWp photovoltaic plant on land located in the municipalities of Noto and Pachino, Sicily.

This transaction is part of the commercial agreement, signed in January 2022, which establishes a partnership between European Energy and Iren on a pipeline of 437.5 MWp of photovoltaic projects in Italy.

Salcef Group gains 0.2 percent, after announcing Monday that it has signed a preliminary agreement to acquire 100 percent of the share capital of Colmar Technik, which has been in business since 1963 and at its plants in Arquà Polesine and Costa di Rovigo designs and manufactures machinery for the construction and maintenance of railway lines.

On the Small-Cap segment, Itway rises 0.1 percent, after reporting Monday that KT&Partners began coverage of the company's stock with a 'buy' recommendation.

KT&Partners set the target price at EUR2.01, a potential upside of 58 percent from current market prices.

Somec -- in the green by 1.0 percent -- reported Monday that its subsidiary Bluesteel has won a new contract worth GBP10.5 million, over EUR12 million at current exchange rates, for a prestigious architectural project in central London.

Mondo TV is down 0.6 percent after announcing Friday the closing of a new licensing agreement for the Gorjuss brand with Coriex. The contract will last until Dec. 31, 2025, and provides for the payment of a new guaranteed minimum and, if the above amount is exceeded, the payment of royalties by the licensee. On all such amounts, Mondo TV will retain its commission of 30 percent.

Among SMBs, Destination Italia gives up 4.6 percent, after it reported Monday that the group reached the value of about EUR35 million in terms of the order book of tourism bookings in the first 5 months of the year, marking a 150 percent increase over May 31, 2022.

Revo Insurance rises 0.7 percent, after announcing Tuesday that S&P Global Ratings raised its rating outlook from stable to positive and simultaneously confirmed its BBB+ rating.

Circle -- flat at EUR4.92 per share -- announced Monday that it has been awarded, along with 21 other European partners, the eFTI4EU project with a total value of EUR28.3 million. The project for Circle is worth EUR562,500 and has a duration of 36 months.

Star Workshop gains 3.9 percent after it announced Tuesday the signing of a technology development and industrial cooperation agreement with Leonardo Spa and Thales Alenia Space - a 67 percent Thales and 33 percent Leonardo joint venture. The agreement has a 5-year term.

Redelfi -- in the green by 0.5 percent -- and Altea Green Power -- up by 2.3 percent -- announced Tuesday that the process of studying the connection of the Lund Storage Center project under BESS Power Corp, a 65 percent subsidiary of RAL Green Energy Corp, a company equally owned by Redelfi and AGP, has begun.

The study, called the Full Interconnection Study, is being undertaken with the cooperation of Texas independent system operator ERCOT - Electric Reliability Council of Texas Inc - and U.S. utility operator LCRA - Lower Colorado River Authority.

The Full Interconnection Study is expected to be completed by September 2023.

Also noteworthy is the Piazza Affari debut of Ferretti, a historic luxury yacht company and currently listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The stock gives up 1.3 percent to EUR2.96 per share.

As part of the IPO, the offering price was set at EUR3 per share. Gross proceeds from the offering amount to approximately EUR265 million and are earmarked for the selling shareholder.

The offer consists of 88.4 million shares, offered for sale by Ferretti International Holding Spa. Assuming the OverAllotment option is not exercised, the shares on offer will make up about 26.1 percent of the company's share capital.

In New York on Monday, the Dow Jones closed fractionally in the red, the S&P gave up 0.5 percent, and the Nasdaq lost 1.2 percent.

In Asia, the Nikkei closed in the red 0.5 percent to 32,5538.33, the Shanghai Composite finished in the green 1.2 percent to 3,189.44, and the Hang Seng closed up 1.9 percent to 19,148.13.

Among currencies, the euro changed hands at USD1.0937 against USD1.0912 in Monday's European equities close. In contrast, the pound is worth USD1.2718 from USD1.2719 on Monday evening.

Among commodities, Brent crude is worth USD73.78 per barrel versus USD73.80 per barrel at Monday's close. Gold, meanwhile, trades at USD1,924.35 an ounce from USD1,926.92 an ounce on Monday evening.

On Tuesday's calendar, at 1400 CEST, eyes on US building permits.

At 1430 CEST, from the US, focus on durable goods orders, at 1600 CEST on US consumer confidence, and in the evening, at 2230 CEST on weekly oil inventories.

By Chiara Bruschi, Alliance News reporter

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