(Alliance News) - European stock markets--according to the futures market--signaled a bullish opening Wednesday ahead of U.S. inflation data and the Bank of England's decision on interest rates in the U.K., from which a 25 basis point hike is expected, which would represent the 12th consecutive increase by Threadneedle Street.

On star inflation, this is expected to show an annual rate of 5 percent in April, unchanged from the previous month, according to economists recently surveyed by Bloomberg. The CPI figure has steadily declined since last summer, and a reading of 5 percent would represent a stagnant figure for the first time.

Thus, the FTSE Mib, according to the IG platform, has a bullish reading of 80.00 points after closing 0.2 percent in the red at 27,383.53 last night.

Among the smaller listings on Tuesday, the Mid-Cap closed down 0.6 percent to 43,337.78, the Small-Cap gave up 0.6 percent to 28,599.20, and Italy Growth gave up 0.1 percent to 9,133.13.

In Europe, Paris' CAC 40 advanced 18.20 points, London's FTSE 100 was in the green 16.20 points while Frankfurt's DAX 40 advanced 26.00 points.

In Milan last night, on the main Piazza Affari list, on the highs was Banco BPM, which closed ahead 7.5 percent. The bank reported Monday that it closed the first quarter with a net profit of EUR265.3 million, up from EUR177.8 million in the same period of 2022 and EUR209.9 million in the fourth quarter of last year.

BPER Banca also rose well, taking home 3.9 percent, ending for the third session in a row on the bullish side.

On a negative note-despite excellent first-quarter numbers-FinecoBank, which gave up 5.7 percent. The board of directors approved the results as of March 31, closing with net income setting a new record for the quarter at EUR147.3 million, 19% higher year-on-year and 17% higher than the previous quarter, the bank disclosed Tuesday.

Revenues for the first quarter of 2023 amounted to EUR293.7 million, up 15 percent from EUR255.7 million in the first quarter of 2022 and 11 percent from EUR263.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, on the other hand, gave up 2.2 percent, following the announcement of results as of March 31, in which revenues of EUR878.9 million, up 12 percent from EUR786.2 million in the first quarter of the previous year, is in the red by 0.3 percent. Net income was EUR236 million, up 51 percent from EUR156 million in the same period last year.

A2A closed in the red by 0.1 percent. The company announced Monday that it had requested an extension from Egea of the previously agreed exclusivity period expiring on May 15, 2023, in order to continue due diligence activities. Egea, a statement said, confirmed to A2A that it agrees to the continuation of due diligence activities and negotiations until June 12, but on the condition that A2A waives the exclusivity with regard to the ongoing negotiations before the May 15, 2023 deadline. Due diligence will then continue in the context of a competitive process, in which other parties may participate.

On the Mid-Cap, PharmaNutra rose 5.9 percent after Monday's approval of its interim report as of March 31, which closed with net income for the period amounting to EUR5.4 million compared to EUR3.5 million as of March 31, 2022. Consolidated net revenues as of March 31, 2023 amounted to EUR23.6 million, up EUR4.8 million from the same period last year.

Also among the best was Banca Popolare di Sondrio, boosted by good accounts released Tuesday, which closed up 2.2 percent. Consolidated net income as of March 31, 2023, was EUR94.4 million compared to EUR40.3 million in the same period last year.

Anima Holding, in the red by 1.1 percent, reported Friday that it closed the first quarter with net income essentially unchanged year-on-year, at EUR30.2 million from EUR30.3 million in the same period a year earlier.

SOL, on the other hand, gave up 4.7 percent on the eve of the release of its quarterly report.

On the Small-Cap, Ratti advanced 5.7 percent bringing the price to EUR2.99 per share and closing for the fourth session in a row in a bullish trend.

Also doing well was Gas Plus, which took home 2.9 percent after falling 0.6 percent on the eve of the session.

Valsoia, which gave up 0.2 percent, reported Monday that first-quarter revenues rose 9.5 percent year-on-year to EUR24.5 million from EUR22.4 million in the same period a year earlier.

Esprinet, on the other hand, gave up 3.3 percent to EUR7.69, pending its quarterly report due for release on Thursday.

Among SMEs, H-Farm gave up 7.5 percent, after two sessions closed with a positive balance.

Go Internet, on the other hand, gave up 4.8 percent to EUR0.10. The stock touched its new one-year low at EUR0.098 during the day.

Spindox rose 8.5 percent. The company announced Tuesday that it had won a tender from Poste Italiane to establish a framework agreement for the provision of specialized support services for territorial transformation. The contract, which will run for 36 months, has an economic value of EUR2.2 million.

In contrast, Alfio Bardolla rose 5.5 percent, in its third session on the bullish side.

In New York on European night, the Dow Jones gave up 0.2 percent, the Nasdaq 0.6 percent, and the S&P 500 left 0.5 percent on the parterre.

Among Asian exchanges, however, the Hang Seng is down 0.5 percent, the Shanghai Composite is giving up 1.4 percent, while the Nikkei is in the red by 0.4 percent.

Among currencies, the euro changes hands at USD1.0966 versus USD1.0951 at Tuesday's close. In contrast, the pound is worth USD1.2620 from USD1.2612 on Tuesday evening.

Among commodities, Brent crude is worth USD76.87 per barrel versus USD75.42 per barrel on Tuesday evening. Gold, meanwhile, trades at USD2,029.29 an ounce from USD2,024.83 an ounce at Tuesday's close.

On Wednesday's macroeconomic calendar, the Italian industrial production data will be coming in at 1000 CEST.

From the US, at 1300 CEST, space will be given to the US mortgage market report while at 1430 CEST it will be the turn of the inflation figure. At 1630 CEST, eyes on the crude oil stocks data and the Cushing inventory. At 1900 CEST, on the other hand, a 10-year Treasury bond sta is scheduled.

On the corporate calendar, among the many upcoming quarterly reports are those of Aeffe, Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, Hera, Il Sole 24 Ore, Immsi, Nexi, Piovan, Telecom Italia, Tinexta, and Tod's.

By Maurizio Carta, Alliance News reporter

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