(Alliance News) - On Tuesday, Piazza Affari closed in a bullish trend, bringing the bar just below 27,500, with trading rooms continuing to assess possible moves by central banks.

Inflation data from Spain and France were stronger than expected in February, increasing pressure on the ECB for further rate hikes, although an increase of another 50 bp is now taken for granted for the next meeting in March.

On the Federal Reserve's possible path, in the CME Group platform's FedWatch Tool -- using futures also based on the actual federal funds rate, or EFFR -- the main rate hike for the March 22 meeting has a 75% probability of a hike in the 475/500 bps range. In contrast, the probability of an increase in the 500/525 bps area is at 25%. The current target is between 450 and 475 bps.

Thus, the FTSE Mib rose 0.2 percent to 27,478.37, the Mid-Cap gave up 0.1 percent to 44,839.79, the Small-Cap gained 0.3 percent to 30,305.60, and Italy Growth fell 2.7 percent to 9,365.43.

In Europe, London's FTSE 100 closed down 0.7 percent, Paris' CAC 40 in the red by 0.3 percent and Frankfurt's DAX 40 finished just below par.

On the highest-capitalization list in Piazza Affari good buying on Poste Italiane, which rose 2.0 percent to EUR10.20 per share, on the heels of the eve's green closed up 1.4 percent.

The board of directors of Saipem -- in the green by 2.8 percent -- announced Monday that it had reviewed preliminary figures for fiscal year 2022, reporting a net loss of EUR209 million from one for EUR2.46 billion in 2021. Revenues as of Dec. 31, 2022 are EUR9.98 billion from EUR6.52 billion, while adjusted EBITDA is EUR595 million from a loss for EUR1.27 billion in 2021. Technical investments amount to EUR523 million from EUR246 million in 2021. Post-IFRS 16 Net Financial Position is negative EUR264 million from negative EUR1.54 billion as of December 31, 2021.

The company then revised targets for 2023 and 2026, expecting revenues to rise above EUR11 billion and above EUR12 billion, respectively.

Buying session also on UniCredit and Intesa Sanpaolo, up 1.4 percent to 1.1 percent, respectively. On Intesa it should be mentioned that JPMorgan raised the target price to EUR3.20 from EUR2.90 with an 'overweight' recommendation.

Also doing well was Nexi, which gained 0.5 percent after signing an agreement for a long-term partnership in the Spanish market with Banco Sabadell. Under the agreement, Nexi will take over 80 percent of Banco Sabadell's merchant acquiring business, following the spin-off of the asset into PayComet, a subsidiary of the Spanish institution, for an upfront cash consideration of EUR280 million, reflecting an enterprise value of EUR350 million for the entire capital of the asset.

Nexi will finance the transaction entirely from available cash resources. There is also an exclusive distribution agreement with an initial term of 10 years, with two potential renewals of an additional five years each.

Among the declines, Snam gave up 2.2 percent, ending a three-session bullish mini-trend.

Tenaris, on the other hand, retreated 2.4 percent after Monday's 2.5 percent gain.

On the Mid-Cap, LU-VE advances, closing in the green by 0.3% with trading volume at 264,000, against a three-month daily average of about 16,000.

Banca Popolare di Sondrio, meanwhile, advances 2.3 percent, closing for the fourth session in a row on the bullish side.

Also seen in the highs was Saras, up 1.5 percent after eve's 1.7 percent decline.

On a negative note, Italmobiliare gave up 0.8 percent after Monday night's 1.3 percent gain. The stock had previously come from four sessions in the red.

AXA announced Tuesday that it had sold 100.0 million shares in Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena--which gave up 8.1 percent--representing about 7.9 percent of the bank's share capital. The shares were sold at a price of EUR2.33 per share, totaling EUR233 million, in an accelerated bookbuyulding operation reserved for institutional investors. Following the expected completion of the offering, AXA retains a percentage close to 0 of MPS's share capital, or 8,907 shares in the bank.

In the Small-Cap segment, KME Group gained 11 percent after its board approved guidelines for an OPAS on the company's 100.0 million treasury shares and warrants to 2024. For the 100.0 million shares, representing 31 percent of the company's capital, EUR0.90 per share will be offered; for the warrants, on the other hand, the offer is for a voluntary exchange in the ratio of one ordinary share for every 2.3 warrants brought in.

Specifically, the company will pay each bidder a total consideration per unit consisting of EUR0.50 for each ordinary share of KME, for a total value of EUR50 million; and 0.0174 shares of Culti Milano - for each ordinary share of KME, for a total maximum amount of 1.7 million shares of Culti Milano - up 0.9% on Italy Growth -, with a unit value of EUR0.40.

Good purchases also on Geox, which brings the bar up by 5.7 percent. Trading volumes exceeded 2.8 million, against a three-month daily average of about 478,000.

Sogefi, on the other hand, gives up 3.4 percent, after eve's green with 0.9 percent.

Among SMEs, Bifire advanced 4.1 percent, with the company proceeding steadily with its buyback program.

Digitouch, on the other hand, rallied 3.5 percent to EUR2.64, after Monday's 1.2 percent loss.

Jonix - up 3.1 percent - on Tuesday approved its draft operating budget to December 31, 2022 reporting a sharp drop in profit to EUR8,000 from EUR960,000. Also down was revenue for the period, which amounted to EUR4.4 million in 2022 from EUR6.8 million in 2021. "2022 sees a market no longer driven by the pandemic effect, in which sensitivity to environmental issues and awareness of the importance of using sanitization and air quality improvement systems have not yet permeated society. This is compounded by an international environment hurt by geopolitical and economic events such as the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and rising interest rates and inflation," the company explains in a note.

Among several negative notes, Technoprobe, on the other hand, gave up 14 percent despite good corporate numbers. The board on Monday approved draft financial statements for the year ended December 31 that closed with a consolidated net profit of EUR148 million, up 24 percent on the previous year.

Consolidated revenues as of Dec. 31, 2022 stood at EUR549 million, up 40 percent from 2021 as a result of the group's expansion in its target market partly due to the development of new technologies that have strengthened its leadership position.

In New York on Monday, the Dow Jones is in the red by 0.4 percent, the S&P is just below par, and the Nasdaq is up 0.1 percent.

Among currencies, the euro changes hands at USD1.0613 versus USD1.0593 at Monday's close. In contrast, the pound is worth USD1.2116 from USD1.2024 on Monday evening.

Among commodities, Brent crude is worth USD83.82 per barrel versus USD82.65 per barrel on Monday evening. Gold, on the other hand, trades at USD1,87.13 an ounce from USD1,815.51 an ounce at Monday's close.

On Wednesday's macroeconomic calendar, at 0230 CET China's manufacturing PMI, while at 0730 CET it will be the turn of Germany's inflation. At 0945 CET, Italy's incoming manufacturing PMI. At 0955 CET, Germany's manufacturing PMI and unemployment rate.

At 1300 CET, from the US, the mortgage market report. At 1630 CET, the EIA refinery count.

On the corporate calendar, results from Amplifon, Innovatec, Juventus Football Club, Maire Tecnimont and Reti are scheduled.

By Maurizio Carta, Alliance News reporter

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