Europeans up except Milan; MPS tops on Mib.

(Alliance News) - On Friday, major European indexes opened the day just above par, except for the Mib, which continues to follow a bearish path, while S&P Global reported that the July construction PMI index remained in contraction territory, worsening to 48.0 points from 48.6 in June.

Also noteworthy, the numerous half-year results of listed companies released in recent hours, which brought Banca MPS stock firmly to the top of the Mib, while Sanlorenzo contends for the top spot with illimity Bank on the cadet segment.

Thus, the FTSE Mib opens down 0.1 percent to 28,671.69, the Mid-Cap is in fractional red at 42,204.37, the Small-Cap rises 0.4 percent to 26,964.61, and Italy Growth is in the green 0.1 percent to 8,955.97.

Paris' CAC 40 opens in the green by 0.3 percent, Frankfurt's DAX 40 is just above par as is London's FTSE 100.

On the Mib, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena does best of all with a rise of 5.9 percent after Thursday evening's review of results as of June 30 reporting a group profit before tax of EUR615 million, up from the pre-tax profit of EUR44 million reported in the corresponding period of 2022. Net interest income increased to EUR1.08 billion from EUR658.5 million in the first half of 2022.

Saipem -- up 0.8 percent -- reported Thursday that it had been awarded two new contracts for offshore E&C activities in Romania and Germany, worth a total of about EUR1.8 billion.

On Thursday, Pirelli--which opens in fractional green--reported that it had signed a renewal of its prior agreement with the Italian Revenue Agency to continue to take advantage of the Patent Box tax benefit, excluding trademarks, with reference to the 2020-2024 tax years.

The estimated tax benefit for the three-year period 2020-2022 is about EUR40 million, with a similar estimated positive impact on net income.

Tenaris rises 0.4 percent after announcing Wednesday evening that it approved its main results for the first half of the year.

In the first half, the company reported a profit of USD2.26 billion from EUR1.13 billion as of June 30, 2022 and marking a 99 percent increase.

On the cadet segment, Sanlorenzo finishes in the lead with 3.3 percent after announcing Thursday that it made a group net profit of EUR39.0 million in the first half of the year, up 20 percent from EUR32.5 million in the first half of 2022.

Also doing well was illimity Bank- up 3.0 percent-, which announced Friday morning that it had approved results for the first half of the year in which it posted a net profit up 66 percent to EUR52.2 million from EUR31.5 million in the same period last year.

Net interest income stood at EUR97.7 million as of June 30 from EUR74.1 million and up 32 percent year-on-year.

Salvatore Ferragamo -- in the green by 0.7 percent -- reported Thursday that it closed the first half with revenues down to EUR600 million from EUR630 million in the same period a year earlier.

As explained by the fashion house, as of June 30, 2023, the Retail distribution channel reported net sales down 5.9% from the same period in 2022, mainly due to the slowdown in the U.S. market and some planned closures as part of the strategic plan, while performance in EMEA and Greater China was positive.

Datalogic-which advanced 2.3 percent after closing the session with a 12 percent loss, on Wednesday released its consolidated half-year financial report as of June 30 reporting a profit of EUR12.1 million down from EUR8.8 million recorded in the first half of 2022. The company, however, writes in a note that "the group's expectations for the second half of the year are for a decrease in turnover compared to the previous year."

On the Small-Cap side, Banca Profilo - trading at EUR0.20 - reported record results above its business plan targets and ended the half-year with a net profit of EUR9.6 million, up 42 percent from EUR in the first half of 2022.

Total customer deposits for the period stood at EUR5.8 million from EUR5.5 million as of June 30, 2022. Direct deposits amounted to EUR1.11 billion from EUR1.10 billion in the same period in 2022. Total net revenue as of June 30 was EUR41.0 million, up 17 percent from EUR35.1 million a year earlier.

TXT e-solutions--which advances 1.4 percent--reported Thursday that it reported net income nearly doubled in the first half year-on-year to EUR6.8 million from EUR3.5 million in the same period a year earlier.

doValue opens up with 0.3 percent despite the slight decline in profit, as shown by the half-year accounts released Wednesday. Net debt is EUR479.0 million as of June 30, which compares with EUR432.7 million as of March 31.

FILA -- down 1.9 percent -- reported Thursday that in the first half of the year it posted a net income for the period of EUR21.2 million, down from EUR24.9 million in the same period last year. Total revenues amounted to EUR420.5 million up from EUR396.8 million in the same period last year.

The board of directors of Cairo Communication -- up 0.7 percent -- on Thursday reviewed and approved the half-year financial report as of June 30, 2023, which closed with net income attributable to the group was about EUR15.9 million from EUR11.3 million in the first half of 2022. In the first half, the group confirmed consolidated gross revenues at EUR599.2 million from EUR598.6 million in 2022.

Among SMEs, Intred climbs with 13 percent after the board of directors reviewed revenues as of June 30, which amounted to EUR24.5 million, up 7.3 percent from the same period last year.

The increase in turnover was mainly supported by sales of fiber-optic connections, up 12 percent from the same period last year.

Innovatec opens in the red by 2.2 percent after reporting Thursday that first-half revenues fell to EUR95.5 million from EUR163.0 million year-on-year.

In Asia, the Nikkei closed in the green 0.1 percent to 32,192.75, the Hang Seng is gaining 0.6 percent to 19,546.31, and the Shanghai Composite closed in the green 0.2 percent to 3,288.08.

In New York on Thursday, the Dow Jones closed down 0.2 percent at 35,215.89, the S&P gave up 0.3 percent to 4,501.89, and the Nasdaq left 0.1 percent on the sidelines at 13,959.72.

Among currencies, the euro changed hands at USD1.0953 against USD1.0947 on Thursday in closing European equities while the pound was worth USD1.2719 from USD1.2717 on Thursday evening.

Among commodities, Brent crude is worth USD85.41 per barrel versus USD84.89 per barrel at Thursday's close. Gold, on the other hand, trades at USD1,933.41 an ounce from USD1,935.41 an ounce Thursday evening.

On Friday's economic calendar, at 1000 CEST, focus on Italian industrial production while at 1100 CEST it will be the turn of euro area retail sales.

From the US, at 1430 CEST, will come several labor market reports, including unemployment and hourly earnings.

At 1900 CEST, eyes on the Baker Hughes drilling rig data and, as usual on Fridays, the COT Report will arrive.

Among the companies in the Italian stock market, the half-year reports of Alkemy, MARR, Interpump, Masi Agricola and Tesmec, among others, are expected.

By Chiara Bruschi, Alliance News reporter

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