(Alliance News) - The FTSE Mib closed lower on Tuesday's session, the first after the long Easter break weekend, with traders' eyes pointing to some macroeconomic appointments scheduled for tomorrow.
On the macro front, the number of job openings in the US rose slightly in February, according to the latest data.
On the last working day of February, the number of vacancies was 8.8 million, up from January's revised figure of 8.7 million, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The January figure was revised downward by 115,000 while the February figure was in line with the FXStreet consensus.
The FTSE Mib closed Tuesday down 1.2 percent to 34,325.23, the Mid-Cap gave up 1.2 percent to 47,570.65, the Small-Cap lost 1.2 percent to 28,149.97 and Italy Growth closed down 0.3 percent to 8,088.78.
London's FTSE 100 closed down 0.2 percent, Paris' CAC 40 gave up 0.9 percent and Frankfurt's DAX 40 lost 1.1 percent.
On the Mib, Saipem did well, up 1.9%, on the back of the rise with which it ended the last session before Easter, with the price of the barrel driven by Middle East tensions supporting sentiment on the stock. The Israeli airstrike on the Iranian embassy in Syria, which claimed the lives of Iran's supreme commander and others, aggravated tensions in the area.
The head of the list, however, is for parent Eni, which is up 2.6 percent to EUR15.03 per share, in its third consecutive bullish session.
Financials hurt, except for BPM and Pop Sondrio, up 1.1 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively. Azimut Holding, down 4.7 percent, Banca Generali 2.1 percent, Mediolanum 1.4 percent.
Also trailing, Brunello Cucinelli, which gave up 4.0% to EUR101.80. Of note, UBS cut its target price on the stock to EUR120.00 from EUR133.00.
On the cadet segment, Fincantieri did well, up 4.4 percent and with 15.4 million shares it is also the most traded stock. But, even on this list, bearishness prevails.
Juventus FC is paying for the negative momentum in Serie A and gives up 4.7 percent after closing last week's capital increase but losing to Lazio.
Iren is also bad, down 4.4%, while Tinexta loses ground, down 4.0%.
On the Small-Cap, strength on algoWatt, which rises 6.0% and closes its sixth consecutive session up, bringing its weekly gain over 65%.
Seri Industrial - on par - reported that it closed 2023 with a net loss of EUR6.3 million, which compares with a net loss of EUR3.4 million in 2022. Revenues rose to EUR200.1 million from EUR199.6 million while Ebitda increased to EUR22.9 million from EUR17.4 million.
At the tail end, EEMS gave up 34 percent, recording the worst performance of its basket.
Among SMEs, Illa gave up 10%, closing at the bottom of the list, while Edil San Felice performed well, up 14% to EUR3.38, benefiting from good 2023 accounts released earlier in the day. The company ended 2023 with an operating profit of EUR8.5 million, up 79% from EUR4.8 million as of December 31, 2022.
Also doing well were Lindbergh, up 15 percent, and Riba Mundo Tecnologia, up 14 percent, boosted by its 2023 accounts.
In New York, the Dow falls 1.1% to 39,125.91, the Nasdaq gives up 1.5% to 16,156.35, and the S&P 500 is down 1.0% to 5,188.99.
Among currencies, the euro changes hands slightly lower at USD1.0765 at Tuesday's close while the pound rises slightly USD1.2566.
Among commodities, Brent crude is worth USD89.05 per barrel while gold trades bullish at USD2,259.15.
Wednesday's economic calendar opens with Japan's services PMI at 0230 CET, followed by China's PMI at 0345 CET.
In Europe, focus on the French government budget, at 0845 CET, and Italian unemployment, due at 1000 CET. An hour later, space is given to Eurozone inflation and unemployment rate while at 1115 CET the outcomes of the OPEC+ meeting are expected.
In the afternoon, at 1300 CET, mortgage data will arrive from the US while nonfarm employment data will be released at 1415 CET. US PMIs will be released at 1600 CET, half an hour before crude oil stocks. Also prominent among the various Federal Resserve members who will speak on Wednesday is the speech by U.S. central bank President Jerome Powell at 1810 CET.
Among the companies in the Piazza Affari, Zucchi's results are expected.
By Giuseppe Fabio Ciccomascolo, Alliance News senior reporter
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