(Alliance News) - On Friday, major European stock markets confirmed expectations and opened mixed as manufacturing PMI data from the major Eurozone economies were released. The only exception is the London Stock Exchange, which opens in surplus.
Thus, the FTSE Mib is down 0.1 percent at 28,812.40, the Mid-Cap gives up 0.1 percent to 42,406.77, the Small-Cap is in fractional red at 27,354.83, and Italy Growth is in fractional green at 8,884.00.
In Europe, Paris' CAC 40 is in the red by 0.3 percent, Frankfurt's DAX 40 is up 0.1 percent while London's FTSE 100 is in the green by 0.2 percent.
On the blue chip list, oils are taking off thanks to the rise in Brent crude oil, with Eni doing best of all and rising 1.0%, Tenaris is up 0.7% and Saipem follows with a 0.6% gain.
Saipem on Thursday had announced that it had successfully completed the placement of EUR500 million of senior unsecured guaranteed equity-linked bonds maturing in 2029.
The net proceeds of the placement will be used for general corporate purposes, including refinancing a portion of existing debt, a company note said. The bonds will have a coupon with a fixed annual rate of 2.875 percent, payable on a semi-annual basis in arrears. The conversion price is EUR2.0487 and incorporates a 37.5 percent conversion premium applied to the placement price of the so-called Delta Placement shares in the Concurrent Delta Placement.
Intesa Sanpaolo -- in the red by 0.1 percent -- on Thursday announced a cash tender offer to repurchase all or part of its perpetual bond "EUR750,000,000 Additional Tier 1 Notes" with a total outstanding nominal amount of EUR750 million and the launch of a new issue of a perpetual Additional Tier 1 fixed-rate reset bond with a nominal amount of not less than EUR750 million.
At the tail end is DiaSorin, which leaves 1.3 percent on the parterre, preceded by Hera, which loses 0.6 percent.
On the Mid-Cap, Webuild gives up 0.5 percent after closing Thursday's session in the lead, up 9.5 percent, in its fifth straight session among the bullish.
The stock rose after Snowy Hydro, the developer of the Snowy 2.0 project in Australia--Australia's largest hydropower project, 100% owned by Webuild after its acquisition of Clough--announced Thursday morning that it was revising its contract.
According to Equita analysts, this is "clearly positive news" for Webuild: "With the revision of the award value of the work (the final value recognized to Webuild has yet to be announced but we believe it to be a large part of the AUD12 billion indicated) and especially the revision of the contract model from fixed cost to incentivized target cost, the perceived risk on one of the largest and most complex contracts in Webuild's order book is lessened," reads a research note.
In fact, as reported by Reuters, the expansion of Australia's largest hydropower project will now cost AUD12 billion -- or USD7.77 billion --, nearly doubling the price of the renewable energy project, plagued by delays, at a time when Australia urgently needs to replace mothballed coal-fired power plants.
Fincantieri gives up 0.6 percent after reporting that it has completed the parallel modernization of two cruise ships for Crystal -- A&K Travel Group -- delivering Crystal Symphony in recent days.
The first vessel, Crystal Serenity, rejoined the owner's fleet on July 20.
The contract was finalized in December 2022, and after an initial phase dedicated to engineering development, work lasted for about five months significantly raising the level of services and accommodations on board.
Iren gives up 0.6 percent. The board of directors on Wednesday co-opted Paolo Emilio Signorini and appointed him as the new chief executive officer and general manager, following Gianni Vittorio Armani's resignation on June 12.
The appointment follows the formal indication made by the union committee of Iren's public shareholders composed of Marco Bucci, mayor of Genoa; Stefano Lo Russo, mayor of Turin; and Luca Vecchi, mayor of Reggio Emilia.
It does well Saras, which rises 0.9 percent and follows the bullish trend in oils already seen on the Mib, despite Marshall Wace cutting its short position on the stock to 1.61 percent from 1.82 percent.
On the Small-Cap, FNM - not yet affected by trading - and CDP Venture Capital Sgr have signed an agreement to develop innovative startups and SMEs through the entry of the integrated group for sustainable mobility in Lombardy into the Corporate Partners I Fund, the multi-compartment fund that involves the main industrial and financial players in order to stimulate the growth of the innovation ecosystem in Italy in the strategic sectors of energy, manufacturing, services and infrastructure.
Specifically, with an investment of EUR10 million, FNM Group enters the InfraTech sub-fund of CDP Venture Capital Sgr's Corporate Partners I fund, which specializes in the search for technological solutions applicable to infrastructure such as infrastructure design and planning and the monitoring, management and control of construction sites and infrastructure through innovative solutions and technologies based on applications of artificial intelligence and internet of things, robotics and new materials.
Aquafil gives up 0.3 percent the day after it reported that the first half of the year ended with a loss of EUR4.1 million from a profit of EUR17.7 million recorded in the same period of the previous year and a decline of 123 percent.
As of June 30, revenues stood at EUR311.1 million, down 11 percent from EUR351.0 million in 2022. Ebitda was worth EUR31.3 million from EUR51.5 million and down 39%. Ebit was EUR4.1 million from a negative EUR3.9 million as of June 30, 2022.
KME Group rises 0.1 percent. The company, with reference to the three voluntary total takeover bids involving KME ordinary shares, KME savings shares, and "KME Group Spa 2021 - 2024 Warrants," respectively, announced on Wednesday evening that Germany's Federal Ministry of Economy and Energy has issued the authorization measure under the applicable local regulations on foreign investment control, i.e., golden power.
Among SMEs, eVISO rises 1.3 percent, after reporting Thursday that it closed the year ended June 30 with revenues up to EUR225 million from EUR208 million a year earlier.
Circle is not yet affected by trading, but announced Thursday that it has signed a major new contract with a leading European intermodal and terminal operator. The value of the order is over EUR200,000 and the duration of the contract is 12 months.
Maps - up 1.7 percent - on Wednesday announced that it had concluded a supplementary agreement for the early acquisition from minority shareholder MMW Srl of the remaining 30 percent stake in Informatica e Telecomunicazioni Srl and the simultaneous closing of the entire transaction. The early closing thus provides for a total amount of EUR2.1 million.
In Asia, the Nikkei gave up 0.3 percent to 32,710.62, the Hang Seng not trading due to holidays, while the Shanghai Composite gained 0.4 percent to 3,133.25.
In New York on Thursday, the Dow Jones closed 0.5 percent in the red at 34,721.91, the S&P finished down 0.2 percent at 4,507.66, while the Nasdaq rallied 0.1 percent to 14,034.97.
Among currencies, the euro changed hands at USD1.0857 against USD1.0848 on Thursday in closing European equities while the pound was worth USD1.2681 from USD1.2659 on Thursday evening.
Among commodities, Brent crude is worth USD87.28 per barrel versus USD86.76 per barrel at Thursday's close. Gold, on the other hand, trades at USD1,969.45 an ounce from USD1,942.84 an ounce on Thursday evening.
Friday's economic calendar features PMIs from major Eurozone economies between 0915 CEST and 1000 CEST. The one from the United Kingdom will come at 1030 CEST.
Coming up are the US employment data, with the private sector payrolls data arriving at 1430 CEST among the most anticipated of the day.
Among the companies in the Piazza Affari, no particular events are expected.
By Claudia Cavaliere, Alliance News reporter
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