(Alliance News) - On Thursday, on a day packed with macroeconomic data, Piazza Affari closed in the green above 34,300, after touching 33,800 points with mid-day declines. Also in positive territory were the major European indexes.
Sales prevail in Milan for the banking sector, while purchases for oil stocks hold, with Brent crude oil near new two-month highs.
"European equity indices started the year on a down note, only to be dragged upward by their U.S. counterparts," says Axel Rudolph, Senior Technical Analyst at online trading platform IG.
"This came on the back of a drop in initial claims for U.S. unemployment benefits to an eight-month low and a rise in U.S. mortgage rates, a reflection of rising U.S. Treasury yields and the Fed's restrictive stance."
According to IG's expert, optimism about China's economic recovery and a drop in U.S. stocks pushed up WTI, which broke through technical resistance, followed by Brent.
The FTSE Mib closed Thursday up 0.6 percent to 34,374.77, the Mid-Cap rose 0.6 percent to 48,023.66, the Small-Cap gained 0.7 percent to 28,517.38, and Italy Growth rose 0.6 percent to 7,949.69.
In Europe, London's FTSE 100 closes in the green by 1.1 percent, Paris' CAC 40 rises 0.2 percent and Frankfurt's DAX 40 advances 0.5 percent.
On the macroeconomic front, in the U.S., mortgage applications fell nearly 13 percent from the previous week in the period ended Dec. 27, according to data compiled by the MBA, with mortgage application volumes at their lowest level in 10 months on a seasonally adjusted basis.
During the same period, the average interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming balances -- at or below USD766,550 -- rose to 6.97 percent.
S&P Global's U.S. manufacturing PMI fell to 49.4 in December from 49.7 in the previous month.
Initial U.S. unemployment claims also fell, marking the lowest number of initial claims in eight months.
In Canada, S&P Global's manufacturing PMI rose to 52.2 in December from 52.0 in November and exceeding market estimates of 51.9.
On the highest-capitalization list in Piazza Affari, Saipem does best of all and closes ahead by 6.1 percent, with nearly 49 million changed hands.
Eni, which gains 2.8 percent, and Recordati, in the green by 2.3 percent, do well.
Telecom Italia also rises, up 1.3 percent, at the start of what will be a breakthrough year for the former monopolist as it lightens its network.
Stellantis closes in the green by 0.3% after negative data came in from the French market. Stellantis suffered the most in an already bearish market, posting a 7.0 percent decline with 452,900 cars sold, a decrease double the market average.
Among the main competitors, Renault limited its losses to 2.7 percent with 425,116 registrations while Toyota saw a 19 percent increase with 134,772 cars sold.
Stellantis and Renault together accounted for more than half of the French market, with shares of 26.4 percent and 24.7 percent respectively.
STMicroelectonics gave up 0.7 percent. Marshall Wace cut its short position on the stock to 0.69% from 0.79% previously.
Intesa Sanpaolo - in the red by 0.3% - announced Thursday a EUR10 million loan to Unicalce, Italy's leading producer of lime, dolomitic lime and derivative products with 11 plants nationwide.
Other banking stocks fared badly, with UniCredit giving up 0.4 percent, Banca Popola di Sondrio losing 1.4 percent as did Banca Monte Paschi di Siena.
At the bottom of the main list is BPER Banca, which loses 2.9 percent with nearly 23 million shares traded.
On the Mid-Cap, d'Amico does best of all and closes ahead 6.7 percent, followed by The Italian Sea Group, in the green by 5.0 percent.
MAIRE - in the green by 1.9% - reported that its subsidiary Nextchem has signed a new EUR125 million loan, 70% of the amount of which is backed by SACE Spa's Archimede Guarantee, strengthening its financial capacity to support investments in technological innovation and R&D.
The loan will have a term of seven years, including a two-year grace period. It will have a variable interest rate based on the three-month Euribor plus a margin of 1.6 percent, plus the cost of the guarantee granted by SACE, and can be repaid in whole or in part at any time without penalty.
Brembo - in the green by 0.7 percent - announced Thursday that it has completed its acquisition of Öhlins Racing, a company specializing in the production of high-performance suspension for motorcycles and cars.
Piaggio&C. gives up 1.0%, following Monday's gains. JPMorgan Asset Management UK filed short position on the stock to 0.59% from 0.61% previously.
At the tail end, Sesa is 1.8% in the red, while BFF Bank occupies the last spot and loses 2.1%.
Among smallcaps, Geox closes 7.7% in the red, with the market showing some impatience after the presentation of a financial maneuver to support the new business plan.
The plan calls for investments of EUR120 million and the goal of reaching revenues over EUR850 million by 2029, with average annual growth of 5 percent.
The plan is divided into two phases, "Strategy re-rooting and Performance Improvement" in the two-year period 2025-2026 and "Acceleration" in the three-year period 2027-2029, aimed at improving the operating model and expanding international presence.
The main thrusts of the plan include enhancing the "Breathe" brand identity, expanding the customer base, strengthening digital and omnichanneling, and introducing AI for high-ROI processes. The move also includes a rescheduling of existing debts with banks, a EUR30 million capital increase by June 2025, and the issuance of warrants for a further increase to EUR30 million by 2026.
EPH is doing badly, plummeting 21 percent, while on the other side of the list of small-cap companies is Gas Plus, up 7.8 percent, with more than 2 million pieces changed hands.
Among the SMBs, debutant EdgeLab soars more than 57 percent, followed by AATech up 28 percent, after being suspended for overbought at the start.
At the bottom Estrima gives up 21 percent, followed by Monnalisa, which closes 14 percent in the red.
In New York, the Dow is up 0.2%, the Nasdaq gains 0.6%, and the S&P 500 is in the green by 0.4%.
Among currencies, the euro changes hands at USD1.0252 versus USD1.0381 in Monday's European stock close. The pound is worth USD1.2378 from USD1.2511 on Monday evening.
Among commodities, Brent crude is worth USD76.39 per barrel from USD74.45 per barrel at Monday's close. Gold trades at USD2,671.19 an ounce from USD2,603.66 an ounce on Monday evening.
Friday's macroeconomic calendar opens at 0900 CET with the release of unemployment data in Spain; at 0955 CET in Germany, unemployment data will be released, while in Italy the government deficit figure will be released; at 1030 CET, UK mortgage data will be released.
In the afternoon, at 1600 CET, the manufacturing PMI will be released from the U.S., followed by natural gas stocks at 1630 CET.
Then, at 1700 CET, FOMC member Barkin's speech in the U.S. and, in parallel, Bank of Canada Governing Council member Lane's speech are scheduled.
The day closes at 1900 CET, from the US, with the release of data on Baker Hughes drilling rigs.
Among the companies in the Piazza Affari, no particular events are expected.
By Antonio Di Giorgio, Alliance News senior reporter
Comments and questions to redazione@alliancenews.com
Copyright 2025 Alliance News IS Italian Service Ltd. All rights reserved.