Europeans expected to fall; Brent above USD94

(Alliance News) - On Monday morning, major European listings are expected to start the week down, according to IG futures, while Brent continues to follow a bullish trend settling above USD94 per barrel.

OPEC, the U.S. Energy Information Administration and the International Energy Agency have forecast larger market deficits in the coming quarter as major producers have maintained tight global supply, while global oil demand is expected to increase over the same period.

New stimulus measures from Beijing and increased output from Chinese refineries, thanks to strong export margins, have supported the demand outlook in the world's top crude oil importer. Meanwhile, investors remain cautious ahead of this week's U.S. Federal Reserve policy decision, which is expected to keep interest rates steady but is likely to remain hawkishly oriented.

Thus, the FTSE Mib is given down 55 points or 0.2 percent after closing up 0.1 percent at 28,895.39

In Europe, London's FTSE 100 is expected to be down 27.4 points or 0.4 percent, Paris' CAC 40 is expected to open in the red 28.5 points or 0.4 percent, and Frankfurt's DAX 40 is given down 28.3 points or 0.2 percent.

Among Italy's smaller lists on Friday night, the Mid-Cap closed down 0.2 percent to 41,051.59, the Small-Cap gives up 0.6 percent to 26,592.08 and Italy Growth down 0.3 percent to 8,624.71.

In Milan on Friday evening on the main list of Piazza Affari Stellantis did best of all with a 1.9 percent gain. The performance did not drag the Agnelli Galaxy, which closed mixed, with Iveco giving up 0.3 percent, Ferrari up 0.7 percent, CNH Industrial losing 0.1 percent, and Juventus on the Mid giving up 1.7 percent.

Iveco announced Wednesday that Anna Tanganelli - formerly of Iren - will take over as chief financial officer effective Dec. 1, succeeding Francesco Tanzi who served as CFO during Iveco Group's spin-off and its first year and a half as an independent company.

Leonardo also did well, rising 1.6 percent. The company said Tuesday that defense industry leaders from the United Kingdom, Japan, and Italy have signed a trilateral collaboration agreement to develop the conceptual phase of a next-generation combat aircraft.

The agreement is part of the Global Combat Air Program, a collaboration between the three countries that aims to deliver a next-generation combat aircraft by 2035.

Rounding out the podium is Telecom Italia, up 1.2 percent.

Unipol - unchanged at EUR5.22 per share - and UnipolSai - up 0.7 percent on the Mid - reported on Friday that they had bought - on Sept. 11, 12 and 13 - a total of 585,000 Unipol shares, for a total of EUR3.0 million.

On the Mid-Cap, Cembre rose 3.5 percent after reporting Tuesday a half-year profit of EUR23.9 million, up 31 percent from EUR18.2 million in the same period last year.

SogGen moved on fashion stocks between Mid and Mid: in fact, on Moncler, up 1.1 percent in closing on the main list of Piazza Affari, it cut its target price to EUR69.00 from EUR78.00 with a 'buy' recommendation.

It also cut the target price of Tod's -- which gave up 1.4 percent -- to EUR42.00 from EUR46.00 with a 'hold' recommendation.

Movements also on Salvatore Ferragamo, in the red by 0.5 percent. On the stock SocGen cut its target price to EUR10.00 from EUR11.00 with 'sell' recommendation.

Webuild - in the red by 2.0 percent - on Thursday reported growth in Australia, the group's first non-domestic market, with EUR7.3 billion worth of orders won and being finalized in the country in the first eight months of 2023, bringing the group's work portfolio in Australia to EUR13.3 billion.

On this basis, Webuild reached EUR21 billion worth of orders acquired and being finalized in the first eight months of 2023, pushing the group's work portfolio to a potential of more than EUR68 billion.

Sesa picked up 4.6 percent. It reported Thursday that in the first quarter ended July 31 it reported an adjusted group net profit of EUR26.5 million from EUR23.8 million in the same period last year.

On the small-cap side, Beewize--green by 4.9 percent--reported Friday that the board of directors approved the condensed consolidated half-year financial statements as of June 30 reporting a loss of EUR673,000 from a loss of EUR1.8 million in the first half of 2022.

Net revenues amounted to EUR2.65 million in line with EUR2.59 million in the same period last year.

Bialetti Industrie rallied 0.4 percent after announcing Thursday evening that it made a loss of EUR3.1 million in the first half of the year, worsening from the EUR2.0 million loss recorded in the first half of 2022. The increase in the loss, the company specified in a note, was mainly due to the increase in financial expenses related to the rise in interest rates.

I Grandi Viaggi gave up 0.5 percent. In the third quarter, the company saw its loss narrow by EUR2.0 million, an improvement from a net loss of EUR5.1 million in the same period last year. Revenues as of July 31 rose to EUR32.2 million from EUR24.4 million in Q3 2022.

Orsero rose 1.3 percent after reporting that it reported adjusted net income of EUR33.4 million in the first half of the year, up 57& from EUR32.4 million reported in the same period of 2022. On Friday, the company announced the launch of a share buyback program for a maximum of 70,000 shares, worth up to EUR1.0 million.

Among SMEs, ISCC Fintech gained 3.7 percent after announcing Thursday that the board of directors approved the half-year financial report reporting a loss of EUR1.4 million, which compares with a loss of EUR839,537 in the first half of 2022. Revenues amounted to EUR1.4 million, up from EUR1.1 million in the same period last year.

Italian Wine Brands rose 2.8 percent on the back of a good six-month period that reported sales revenues of EUR196.8 million, up from EUR177.3 million in the same period last year. Profit amounted to EUR4.6 million up from EUR3.9 million in the first half of 2022.

In Asia, with Tokyo closed for Older Persons' Day, the Hang Seng is in the red with 1.2 percent and the Shanghai Composite is up 0.3 percent.

In New York, the Dow closed 0.8 percent in the red, the Nasdaq gives up 1.6 percent and the S&P 500 leaves 1.2 percent on the sidelines.

Among currencies, the euro changed hands at USD1.0673 versus USD1.0671 in Friday's European equities close, while the pound was worth USD1.2402 from USD1.2400 on Friday evening.

Among commodities, Brent crude is worth USD94.61 per barrel versus USD93.81 per barrel at Friday's close. Gold, on the other hand, trades at USD1,929.33 an ounce from USD1,949.15 an ounce Friday night.

On Monday's economic calendar, at 1415 CEST from Canada comes data on its new construction sites, the price index for industrial products and raw materials.

On the bond front, at 1130 CEST it's the turn of a 12-month German Bubill auction, at 1455 CEST in France there are auctions of 3-, 6- and 12-month BTFs, and in the US at 1730 CEST there are auctions of US Treasury bonds with 3- and 6-month maturities.

Among companies listed on the Italian Stock Exchange, results are expected from Growens, Health Italia,

Juventus Football Club, Neurosoft and SS Lazio.

By Chiara Bruschi, Alliance News reporter

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