(Alliance News) - On Monday, mid-day markets are still in negative territory, with Milan recovering its early losses but remaining the worst among the major European stock exchanges.
Thus, the FTSE Mib is down 0.5 percent to 27,068.65, the Mid-Cap is in the red 0.6 percent to 41,948.81, the Small-Cap gives up 0.7 percent to 26,710.51, and Italy Growth is down 0.4 percent to 9,017.33.
Paris' CAC 40 gives up 0.3 percent, Frankfurt's DAX 40 leaves 0.4 percent on the parterre, as does London's FTSE 100.
In macroeconomic news, the Ifo Business Climate indicator for Germany released Monday fell for the second consecutive month to 88.5 in June, the lowest level since last December and well below market expectations of 90.7. In May it stood at 91.7.
The recent drop underscored the lingering uncertainty surrounding Europe's economic recovery, as manufacturers reported a decline in new orders due to the dampening effect of global interest rate hikes on demand.
On the main index in Piazza Affari, only STMicroelectronics in green by 0.5 percent and ERG, up 0.2 percent.
The latter, through its subsidiary ERG Hamburg Holding, announced Friday that it had finalized the acquisition from IBV Solar Parks--a company of the German ib vogt group--of 100 percent of Garnacha Solar, a company that owns a photovoltaic park located in the Castilla y León region of northwest Spain.
The plant, currently in the final stages of construction, will have an installed capacity of 149 MWp with an expected commissioning by the end of 2023.
Eni gives up 0.5 percent after announcing Friday that it has signed an agreement to take over Neptune Energy Group, along with its subsidiary Vår Energi.
Eni will acquire Neptune's entire portfolio with the exclusion of assets in Germany and Norway: assets in Germany will be spun off from the perimeter prior to the deal while those in Norway will be acquired by Vår directly from Neptune under a separate share purchase agreement.
Telecom Italia divests 1.9%. The company announced that Elisabetta Romano has been appointed chairman of the board of directors of Sparkle, the Group's global operator, the leading international services provider in Italy and among the first in the world.
CEO Enrico Maria Bagnasco retains the leadership of Sparkle with the proxies given to him upon appointment last November.
Leonardo sits on the bottom, giving up 4.9 percent. The company announced Thursday that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Airbus to jointly promote integrated training systems and develop responses to future Air Dominance challenges.
On the bearish-dominated Mid-Cap, Maire Tecnimont takes the top spot and advances 4.9 percent after announcing that its subsidiaries, part of the Integrated E&C Solutions business unit, Tecnimont and Tecnimont Arabia Limited have been awarded two lump-sum turn-key EPC contracts related to the petrochemical expansion of the SATORP refinery-a JV comprised of Saudi Aramco and TotalEnergies-at Jubail in Saudi Arabia.
The petrochemical plant will enable the conversion of refinery gas and naphtha, as well as ethane and natural gasoline, into higher value-added chemicals.
The total value of the contracts is about USD2 billion.
Safilo Group is up 0.5 percent. The company announced on Monday that, following the company's previous announcements regarding the evaluation of a possible sale of the Longarone plant to potential third parties, negotiations are at an advanced stage with Thelios Spa, a company active in the eyewear sector and belonging to the LVMH Group, which would allow the site's know-how to be preserved and a substantial part of the personnel involved in the same to be absorbed.
Salcef Group is flat after announcing Monday that it has signed a preliminary agreement to acquire 100 percent of the share capital of Colmar Technik Spa, which has been in business since 1963 and in its plants in Arquà Polesine and Costa di Rovigo designs and manufactures machinery for the construction and maintenance of railway lines.
Sesa - in the red by 1.1 percent - on Thursday announced that it had signed an industrial partnership agreement and acquired, through its wholly owned subsidiary Var Group Spa, a 55 percent stake in Sangalli Tecnologie Srl, thus strengthening its expertise in the Digital Workspace and Collaboration sector.
On the Small-Cap segment, Somec - in the green by 1.3 percent - reported Monday that its subsidiary Bluesteel has won a new contract worth GBP10.5 million, over EUR12 million at current exchange rates, for a prestigious architectural project in central London.
Mondo TV is down 1.4 percent after announcing Friday the closing of a new licensing agreement for the Gorjuss brand with Coriex.
The contract will last until Dec. 31, 2025, and provides for the payment of a new guaranteed minimum and, if that amount is exceeded, the payment of royalties by the licensee. On all such amounts Mondo TV will retain its own commission of 30 percent.
Risanamento--down 2.0%--reported Thursday that the deed of merger of Milano Santa Giulia into Risanamento has been signed.
Among SMEs, Destination Italia does best of all and rises more than 11%, after it reported on Monday that the group has reached the value of about EUR35 million in terms of the order book of tourism bookings in the first 5 months of the year, marking a 150% increase compared to May 31, 2022.
Circle -- which is up 1.7 percent -- announced Monday that it has been awarded, along with 21 other European partners, the eFTI4EU project with a total value of EUR28.3 million. The project for Circle is worth EUR562,500 and has a duration of 36 months.
Neosperience - in the red by 2.9 percent - announced Friday that it has been chosen by Sinelec, a technology company of ASTM Group, one of the World's largest highway operators, for the creation of its C-ITS platform, dedicated to vehicle-to-everything communication, a foundational element for the development of the smart roads of the future.
In Asia, the Nikkei closed 0.3 percent in the red at 32,698.81, the Hang Seng gave up 0.5 percent to 18,794.13 while the Shanghai Composite finished 1.5 percent in the red at 3,150.62.
In New York on Friday, the Dow Jones closed down 0.7 percent to 33,727.43, the S&P lost 0.8 percent to 4,348.33, while the Nasdaq was down 1.0 percent to 13,492.52.
Among currencies, the euro changed hands at USD1.0895 versus USD1.0882 in Friday's European equities close. In contrast, the pound is worth USD1.2732 from USD1.2710 on Friday evening.
Among commodities, Brent crude is worth USD74.40 per barrel versus USD74.28 per barrel at Friday's close. Gold, on the other hand, trades at USD1,928.54 an ounce from USD1,933.20 an ounce Friday night.
On Monday's calendar, wholesale and manufacturing sales are expected from Canada at 1430 CEST.
By Claudia Cavaliere, Alliance News reporter
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