(Alliance News) - Major European marketplaces are preparing for a slightly upbeat opening, according to IG futures, on a quiet day in terms of macro economic news.

Risk appetite improved from Friday as tensions in the Middle East did not escalate as much as feared over the weekend. Hamas has released two hostages and humanitarian aid has begun to enter Gaza from the Egyptian border. "But tensions remain extremely high and the risk of a serious escalation prevails as Israel has stepped up air raids on Gaza and Hezbollah could drag Lebanon into war and spread tensions across the region," commented Ipek Ozkardeskaya, Senior Analyst at Swissquote Bank.

The FTSE Mib is expected to rise 105.0 points or 0.4 percent, after closing Friday down 1.4 percent at 27,357.00.

London's FTSE 100 is expected to open in fractional green, Paris' CAC 40 up 17.0 points or 0.3 percent and Frankfurt's DAX 40 is expected to be up 29.2 points or 0.2 percent.

Among Italy's smaller lists on Friday evening, the Mid-Cap gave up 1.1 percent to 38,160.88, the Small-Cap lost 1.7 percent to 24,521.12, and Italy Growth fell 1.4 percent to 7,786.84.

On the main list in Piazza Affari, Saipem closed at the bottom, down 6.2 percent. Also hurt were Tenaris, down 2.3%, and Eni, down 0.4%.

Iveco lost 4.7% to EUR7.96 per share, its fourth straight session ended among the bearish.

Generali also contracted, with the Trieste-based lion's stock down 2.3%. Of note, Barclays lowered its target price to EUR32.70 from EUR34.40.

The financial sector lost ground, with Poste Italiane down 3.5 percent and Banca Monte dei Paschi losing 4.0 percent.

STMicroelectronics also gave way, down 3.1% with new price at EUR37.73 per share. On Friday, China announced new restrictions on exports of certain types of graphite, critical to making batteries for electric vehicles, just days after the United States imposed new restrictions on outflows of high-tech microchips.

Washington said this week that it will increase restrictions on exports of cutting-edge semiconductors, crucial for powering artificial intelligence systems, in the latest effort to curb Beijing's access to advanced technology.

Among the few positive notes was Nexi, up 2.5 percent.

On the cadet segment, Brunello Cucinelli, which moved ahead 4.8 percent, did well. The company reported Thursday that revenues for the first nine months rose 28% year-on-year to EUR818.4 million from EUR642.0 million in the same period a year earlier. In Italy, revenues increased to EUR97.2 million from EUR78.0 million, in Europe -- excluding Italy -- they rose to EUR217.9 million from EUR184.2 million, in the Americas they improved to EUR284.7 million from EUR233.9 million, and in Asia they increased to EUR218.6 million from EUR146.0 million.

Good session, among the few bullish, also for Salcef, which is picking up 1.3 percent after a 0.9 percent rise on eve.

Salvatore Ferragamo, which fell 1.9 percent with price at EUR11.70 per share, lost ground. Of note, UBS cut its target price on the stock to EUR11.00 from EUR12.00.

The luxury company reported that it reported revenues down 8.3% year-on-year for the nine months, to EUR844 million, due in part to a reduction in the scope of both the Retail and Wholesale channels, with sales down 10% and 17%, respectively.

On a geographic basis, Asia-Pacific saw sales fall 16 percent, EMEA saw a 3.1 percent increase in sales, North America saw sales fall 20 percent, and Central and South America saw a 3.1 percent drop in sales.

The list closed it Industrie de Nora, down 5.5 percent with new price at EUR13.98 per share after eve's 1.0 percent rise.

On the Small-Cap, good buying on Gabetti, which moved up 0.6% after three sessions closed with bearish candles.

Also up was I Grandi Viaggi, which with a rise of 3.8% placed the price at EUR0.7660 after eve's loss of 2.6%.

On a negative note, among the list's many, Netweek gave up 4.2 percent to EUR0.23, which coincides with its new 52-week low.

Among SMEs, expert.ai lost 5.8% with price at EUR0.8240 per share, bringing the weekly contraction over 13%.

Eles closed down 5.9 percent, with price at EUR1.20, after hitting a 52-week low at EUR1.18.

Doing better was ESI, which rose 0.7% after two sessions among the bearish.

In Asia, with Hong Kong closed for Chung Yeung Day, the Nikkei closed down 0.8 percent at 31,008.50 and the Shanghai Composite gave up 1.4 percent to 2,932.26.

In New York on Friday, the Dow closed down 0.9 percent at 33,127.28, the Nasdaq gave up 1.6 percent to 12,983.81 and the S&P 500 finished 1.3 percent in the red at 4,224.16.

Among currencies, the euro changed hands at USD1.0573 against USD1.0591 recorded in Friday's European stock close while the pound was worth USD1.2147 from USD1.2148 last night.

Among commodities, Brent crude is worth USD91.40 per barrel from USD93.20 per barrel at Friday's close. Gold, on the other hand, trades at USD1,976.48 an ounce from USD1,985.81 an ounce Friday night.

Monday's macroeconomic calendar is fairly bare of events, with Swiss money supply due at 0900 CEST, Eurozone consumer confidence expected at 1600 CEST, and French and US government bond auctions to be held at 1455 CEST and 1730 CEST, respectively.

Among the companies in Piazza Affari, the accounts of Sogefi and UniCredit are expected.

By Chiara Bruschi, Alliance News reporter

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