(Alliance News) – On Thursday, major European stock markets remained in positive territory for the day, but the initial momentum slowed following the release of preliminary Eurozone PMI figures.
Accordingly, the FTSE Mib rose 0.3 per cent to 34,394.04, midcaps rose 0.7 per cent to 47,604.91, small caps rose 0.3 per cent to 27,613.83 and Italian Growth stocks rose 0.1 per cent to 8,173.32. .
In Europe, Paris' CAC40 index is partially in the red, London's FTSE100 index is up 1.0%, and Frankfurt's DAX40 index is up 0.4%.
In macroeconomic news, economic activity in the euro area remained largely stable, with preliminary data from the March PMI survey showing only a slight decline in the output of goods and services. The gradual recovery in the services sector gained momentum, accompanied by a gradual decline in the decline in manufacturing production.
However, the current economic contraction reported in France and Germany offsets the strong recovery in the rest of the euro area, pointing to heterogeneity in the economic situation.
In fact, German private sector production contracted at the slowest pace in three months, mainly due to a more or less stabilization in service sector activity and a slightly smaller decline in manufacturing production.
Meanwhile, according to S&P Global's preliminary figures, the Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Business Conditions Index in March fell to 41.6 from 42.5 in February, lower than the expected 43.1.
In France, both the services sector (47.8 vs. 48.4) and manufacturing (45.8 vs. 47.1) highlighted declines, as demand for French goods and services deteriorated rapidly.
New orders fell at a slightly faster pace. As a result, employment fell for the fourth time in the past five months.
Returning to Milan in Mibu following European registration data, Stellantis (up 1.6%) reported an 11% increase in sales in February compared to February 2023, and a market share in February of 2023. It reported an increase of 18.7% compared to February. 18.5% in February 2023.
Poste Italiane (0.2% Green) on Wednesday announced a new strategic plan until 2026. The plan calls for increased investment and is expected to increase sales and profits over the plan period. Dividends from 2026 are expected to be more than 1.00 euros, and revenues in 2028 are expected to be 13.5 billion euros, with a compound annual growth rate of 3%. Operating profit is expected to be 3.2 billion euros, a CAGR of 4%, and net income is expected to be 2.3 billion euros at the end of the plan, with an annual growth rate of 4%.
Terna was in the red by 0.5%. Goldman Sachs raised its price target to 7.95 euros from the previous 6.65 euros. The company also reported that Moody's has affirmed the company's long-term rating at 'Baa2' with a stable outlook.
Even worse was Nexi Bank, which fell by 2.6%, and Banco Populare di Sondrio, which fell by 2.3%.
In the cadet sector, ENAV rose 6.2% after it announced on Thursday that it ended 2023 with a consolidated profit of 112.7 million euros, up from 105 million euros as at 31 December 2022.
The company announced that it has proposed a dividend of 0.23 euros per share for 2022, up from 0.1967 euros.
Revenue increased from €944.3 million in 2022 to €1.0 billion in the period.
Fitch Ratings announced Wednesday that it upgraded Acea's outlook to “stable” from “negative” and affirmed the issuer's long-term default rating of “BBB+.”
Additionally, the rating agency affirmed the short-term IDR as 'F2' and the long-term senior unsecured rating as 'BBB+'.
The improved outlook reflects Acea's good financial performance recorded in 2023, prudent working capital management and a net debt-to-EBITDA ratio of no more than 3.5x in the planned arc.
MFE-MediaForEurope — B shares up 0.1%, A shares up 0.5% — proposed on Thursday to separate the Dating & Video and Commerce & Ventures segments from ProSiebenSat.1's Entertainment business segment. The fact that MFE is the majority shareholder is created through the “Resolution on the creation of a separation and transfer agreement pursuant to Article 83 of AktG”.
This resolution is scheduled to be submitted to the shareholders' meeting on April 30th.
In small-cap stocks, DuValue rose 5.4% after the preliminary results as of 31 December were approved on Thursday, ending with a net loss including non-recurring items of 17.8 million euros (2022 profit of 16.5 million euros) did.
The company also approved a plan to 2026 that forecasts total revenues in the range of 480-490 million euros, of which 35-40% will be non-performing loans.
Total book value in 2026 is expected to be approximately €110 billion, with a funding rate of approximately 5.5%. Former NRI's EBITDA is in the range of 185 million to 195 million euros, with an EBITDA margin of approximately 39%.
L Venture Group rose 3.9% on Wednesday, announcing its 2023 financial year ended with a loss of 3.2 million euros, worse than a loss of 2.7 million euros as of Dec. 31, 2022.
Revenues for the period increased to 6.3 million euros from 6.5 million euros in 2022.
FILA (2.2% in the red) reported on Tuesday that it ended 2023 with consolidated sales of 779.2 million euros, up from 764.6 million euros as of December 31, 2022. Normalized net profit for the period was 40.6 million euros. The company announced that it has proposed a maximum total dividend of 6.1 million euros, which will be confirmed at 0.12 euros per share in 2022.
Among small and medium-sized companies, Althea Green Power rose 4.5% after announcing on Thursday that it had signed a joint development agreement with a major North American investment fund specializing in alternative energy to develop a power storage system called BESS Storage.
The sale is valued at more than 68 million euros, in addition to a success fee of up to 15 million euros, which will be based on the achievement of performance ratios agreed upon by the parties, the company said in a note.
Groens rose 0.7%, helped by strong 2023 results. The company ended last year with a net profit of 53.2 million euros, compared to a net profit loss of 2.5 million euros in 2022, “as a result of extraordinary divestiture activities carried out in 2023.”
ELES Semiconductor Equipment rose 11% on Wednesday after it said it has signed an agreement with Manakin Enterprise Private Limited, a subsidiary of IHE, for the distribution of Eles solutions for semiconductor reliability testing in the Indian market.
Impianti rose 3.2% on Wednesday after announcing it had secured a framework agreement related to a tender for the supply and installation of red wall systems for which the company's share was worth 2.1 million euros.
In New York, the Dow rose 1.0%, the Nasdaq rose 1.3% and the S&P 500 rose 0.9%.
Among currencies, the euro was at US$1.0919, compared to US$1.0857 recorded at Wednesday's closing price for European stocks, and the pound was US$1.2778, up from US$1.2717 on Wednesday night.
Brent crude oil is valued at $85.78 per barrel as of Wednesday's close, compared to $85.83 per barrel. Meanwhile, gold traded between $2,157.09 and $2,212.45 an ounce as of Wednesday night.
Thursday's macroeconomic calendar includes the Bank of England's interest rate decision at 13:00 CET.
A report on unemployment claims will be released from the US at 1330 CET, followed by manufacturing and the third PMI at 1445 CET.
A report on existing home sales will be published at 15:00 CET.
In the evening, at 2130 CET, the Federal Reserve's weekly balance sheet will be released.
Claudia Cavaliere, Alliance News Reporter
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