(Alliance News) - European stock markets opened higher Monday as investors continue to assess the impact of Iran's unprecedented attack on Israel.
Iran launched a large-scale drone and missile strike against military targets in Israel on Saturday in retaliation to an alleged Israeli attack on the Iranian embassy in Syria. Israel managed to repel the attack and has signaled no immediate intention to retaliate, while the United States has said it wants to avoid a wider war in the Middle East.
Thus, the FTSE Mib opened trading up 0.8 percent at 34,036.05.
Paris's CAC 40 is advancing 0.4 percent, Frankfurt's DAX 40 is advancing 0.5 percent, and London's FTSE 100 is contracting 0.4 percent.
Among the smaller listings, in Milan, the Mid-Cap is advancing 0.4 percent to 47,052.31, the Small-Cap is advancing 0.2 percent to 28,150.13 while Italy Growth is in the fractional red at 8,093.40.
On the Mib, Leonardo is off to a good start, advancing 1.8%, pointing to its fourth bullish session, with tensionsin the Middle East pushing up the defense giant's price.
Prysmian -- up 2.7 percent -- announced Monday that it has entered into a merger agreement under which it will acquire Encore Wire for USD290.00 per share. The price per share of USD290.00 represents a premium of about 20 percent over the 30-day weighted average (VWAP) as of Friday and about 29 percent over the 90-day weighted average (VWAP) as of the same reporting date. The transaction values Encore Wire at about EUR3.9 billion.
UniCredit -- in the green by 1.1 percent -- announced Friday that its board of directors confirmed Pietro Carlo Padoan as chairman and Andrea Orcel as chief executive officer, with all the necessary powers and proxies to do so. The board also appointed Elena Carletti as vice chairman, with deputy duties.
Deutsche Bank cut Enel's target price to EUR6.30 from EUR6.70. The stock h opened trading in surplus
Intesa Sanpaolo opened up 1.6 percentOn the stock, Goldman Sachs raised its target price to EUR3.90 from EUR3.70 per share.
On the MidCap advances well Fincantieri, which is up 2.0% to EUR0.78. on Friday evening's bullish candle.
Good buys also on OVS, which scores a plus 1.9% at EUR2.23 per share after a 3.9% decline in the previous session.
Double target price cut for Salvatore Ferragamo by JP Morgan and Barclays. The stock opened trading in the red by 0.7 percent.
On the SmallCap, selling on Alkemy, which is giving up 3.8%at EUR11.30 per share, in its third bearish session.
Exprivia, on the other hand, is stepping back 1.8%, after Friday night's green with 1.8%.
Bastogi--up 8 percent--reported Friday that it ended 2023 with a net profit of EUR2.9 million, which compares with the previous year's figure of EUR32.4 million. The oldest Italian company still in business reported EBITDA of EUR16.5 million from EUR54.5 million a year earlier.
Good start also for Giglio.Group, which moves ahead 5.3 percent with new price at EUR0.4190.
Among SMEs, in a still uneventful list, Alfio Bardolla starts up more than 12 percent to EUR2.37 per share after declining with 1.4 percent on Friday night.
Energy, on the other hand, advances 4.8 percent to EUR1.31, reversing course after four sessions with a bearish candle.
Vimi Fasteners--flat at EUR1.37--reported Friday that it ended the first quarter with revenues of EUR14.6 million compared to EUR14.4 million in the same period last year. The value of the group's order backlog as of March 31, 2024, based on the current fiscal year and net of revenue value, was EUR31.8 million, down slightly, in line with market trends, from an order backlog of EUR32.8 million recorded as of March 31, 2023.
In New York, the Dow Jones gave up 1.2 percent, while the S&P and Nasdaq both closed down 1.6 percent.
Among Asian exchanges, the Hang Seng trades red by 0.6 percent, the Shanghai Composite marks green by 1.3 percent, while the Nikkei is giving up 0.7 percent.
Among currencies, the euro changes hands at USD1.0651 from USD1.0636 on Friday in closing European equities while the pound is worth USD1.2465 from USD1.2440 on Friday evening.
Among commodities, Brent crude is worth USD89.73 a barrel from USD91.55 on Friday evening and gold trades at USD2,354.74 from USD2,407.76 on Friday evening.
Monday's macroeconomic calendar includes, at 1000 CET, the Italian industrial production data.
From the U.S., at 1430 CET, the retail sales data will be forthcoming, while a three- and six-month Treasury bond auction is scheduled at 1730 CET.
On the corporate calendar, results from Bestbe Holding, BF, Casta Diva, Giglio Group, LU-VE, Svas Biosana, Take Off, and VNE are scheduled.
By Maurizio Carta, Alliance News reporter
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