(Alliance News) - The Mib is expected to open just below par on Tuesday as investors look ahead to the U.S. debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump and await Thursday's ECB decisions.

In the morning, the German Federal Statistical Office confirmed Germany's annual inflation rate at 1.9 percent in August, down from 2.3 percent a month earlier and in line with preliminary estimates.

The FTSE Mib, therefore, is expected to be in the fractional red or down 15.0 points, according to IG futures, after closing Monday up 0.9 percent at 33,590.34.

London's FTSE 100 is given in the red by 0.4 percent or 36.4 points, Paris' CAC 40 is expected to be in the same range, and Frankfurt's DAX 40 is expected to open in the green by 0.1 percent or 7.4 points.

On the European night, however, the focus was on Apple's expected unveiling of the new iPhone 16, which nevertheless "closed almost flat," as Ipek Ozkardeskaya, Senior Analyst at Swissquote Bank, commented.

"Apple's intelligence did not impress. Many investors believe that artificial intelligence capabilities remain relatively weak and cannot trigger a massive surge in sales of new products, especially since these features will be upgraded gradually and will not even be available on the products' launch date. As a result, Apple slumped as much as 1.5 percent during the event and closed the session slightly positive."

Today, Ozkardeskaya continued, "the market's attention will shift to politics: Donald Trump and Kamala Harris will face each other in a debate. We have already said that a Trump victory would favor big oil companies, small domestic companies, and cryptocurrencies. If we do the same exercise for Kamala Harris, a win for her would favor ESG and green companies, health care, infrastructure and technology, as she places special emphasis on sustainable and inclusive growth."

Among Italy's smaller listings Monday evening, the Mid-Cap rose 0.7 percent to 45,689.06, the Small-Cap gained 0.5 percent to 28,424.17, and the Italy Growth rose 0.5 percent to 7,918.60.

On the Mib, Intesa Sanpaolo, Unipol and Banca Popolare di Sondrio led the gains among financial stocks, with gains between 1.4 percent and 2.6 percent.

Banca Mediolanum gained 1.3 percent after publishing its August trading results of EUR665 million on Friday. Of these, total net inflows amounted to EUR486 million and EUR6.82 billion since the beginning of the year.

DiaSorin--up 2.1 percent--reported Monday the launch of the new Liaison S. pneumoniae Antigen immunodiagnostic test in all countries accepting CE marking as an aid to the diagnosis of pneumococcal pneumonia infection, a severe community-acquired pneumonia.

"The launch of this new test confirms our positioning as a specialty player, providing innovative solutions with high clinical value," commented Chen Even, Chief Commercial Officer of Diasorin.

"We are confident that the new test will be able to help discriminate etiological factors in severe community-acquired pneumonia, ensuring broader decision-making in antibiotic administration and management."

Best of all, however, did Campari, up 3.6 percent to EUR8.22 per share and with more than 3.5 million pieces changed hands during the session.

On the Mid-Cap, Banca Generali--up 1.4 percent--reported Monday that it achieved net inflows of EUR378 million in August, up 53 percent from the corresponding month last year, when it was EUR247.0 million.

Since the beginning of the year, inflows amount to EUR4.24 billion compared to EUR3.97 billion in the same period of 2023.

Acea, up 1.2 percent, announced Monday that it had won a tender worth an estimated EUR1.2 billion for the management, in Sicily, of about 2,000 kilometers of water network, about 1,300 kilometers of sewer network, 166,000 water users, or 390,000 inhabitants served.

The planned investments in the tender amount to EUR366 million, the company specified in a note.

Salvatore Ferragamo gave up 2.8 percent, ending on the bottom. Barclays cut target price to EUR6.87 from EUR7.19 with 'underweight' title.

At the top, however, were Juventus FC and Anima Holding, up 5.7 and 4.1 percent, respectively.

Among the smallcaps, Landi Renzo gained 5.4 percent after announcing Friday that it closed the first half of the year with a consolidated net loss of EUR18.5 million, an improvement from that of EUR20.9 million as of June 30, 2023.

In the six-month period, consolidated revenues amounted to EUR139.1 million from EUR151.8 million in the first half of 2023.

Valsoia closed up 1.7 percent after announcing on Monday that it closed the first half of the year with profit up to EUR4.1 million from EUR3.7 million as of June 30, 2023.

Total sales revenue for the period was EUR58.0 million from EUR55.8 million in the first half of 2023. Ebitda as of June 30 was EUR7.0 million from EUR6.1 million in 2023.

Bologna's Guglielmo Marconi Airport -- down 0.8 percent -- after it reported Thursday that passengers in August came in at 1.1 million, up 5.6 percent on the same month in 2023.

Surpassing July's level, August becomes the month with the highest number of passengers in the airport's entire history.

Seco -- up 2.4 percent -- announced Monday the release of Clea OS, an embedded Linux framework, as a new component of the Clea software stack.

"Clea OS represents a significant advancement in the development of IoT solutions, enabling developers and organizations to create and deploy innovative IoT infrastructures more efficiently and effectively," the company points out in a note.

Among SMEs, Racing Force is up 6.9 percent after announcing Monday that it has received the first order to manufacture LIFT Airborne Technologies' Next Generation Fixed-Wing Helmet carbon shells for the U.S. Air Force.

For Racing Force, this is the effective start of sales of equipment for the defense sector, a milestone in its plans to diversify as the group aspires to export to other sectors the skills and technology acquired at the top of motorsport.

Dexelance -- down 2.5 percent -- reported Monday that it closed the first half of the year with revenues of EUR151.0 million, up from EUR135.4 million in the same period last year.

The half-year ended with a net profit of EUR1.0 million compared to EUR5.8 million in 2023. Adjusted net income was EUR6.8 million, also down from the full adjusted net income figure of EUR12.3 million as of June 30, 2023.

In Asia, the Nikkei gives up 0.2 percent, the Hang Seng is in the green by 0.4 percent, and the Shanghai Composite is up 0.2 percent.

In New York, the Dow closed up 1.2 percent at 40,829.59, the Nasdaq rose 0.2 percent to 16,884.60 and the S&P 500 gained 1.2 percent to 5,471.05.

Among currencies, the euro changed hands at USD1.1036 versus USD1.1042 in Monday's European equities close while the pound was worth USD1.3080 from USD1.3080 on Monday evening.

Among commodities, Brent crude trades at USD71.65 per barrel versus USD71.28 per barrel in Monday's European stock close. Gold, on the other hand, trades at USD2,505.96 an ounce from USD2,497.35 an ounce on Monday evening.

Tuesday's macroeconomic calendar includes Spanish industrial production data-expected at 0900 CEST-which will precede Italian data by an hour.

The EU's economic forecast will be released at 1100 CEST while OPEC's monthly report will be released two hours later.

In the afternoon, eyes will be on EIA energy estimates while the day will close at 2230 CEST with weekly oil stocks.

Among the companies in Piazza Affari, the accounts of B&C Speakers, Gas Plus, Italian Sea Group, TXT e-solutions and Unidata are expected.

By Chiara Bruschi, Alliance News reporter

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