(Alliance News) - On Thursday, major European stock markets are expected to be in negative territory on a quiet morning in macroeconomic terms, but dynamic in terms of nine-month results of major listed companies.

Thus, IG futures give the FTSE Mib in the fractional red or down 2.5 points after closing up 0.2 percent at 32,998.70.

Paris' CAC 40 is expected to be in the red by 0.1 percent or down 8.0 points, Frankfurt's DAX 40 is given fractional red or down 4.8 points, London's FTSE 100 is expected to be down 14.2 points or down 0.2 percent.

Among other listings in Milan on Wednesday, the Mid-Cap finished up 0.1 percent to 28,433.33, the Small-Cap was up 1.0 percent to 40,395.92, and Italy Growth gained 0.5 percent to 7,674.89.

On the main list of Piazza Affari last night, Recordati veered downward after a good start, posting a 2.7 percent decline. The company said Tuesday that the group achieved results in the first nine months that exceeded expectations and therefore planned to exceed the 2025 revenue and profit targets set last February.

As of September 30, the group reported net income at EUR304.5 million up 26 percent from EUR241.5 million in the same period of 2022. Adjusted net income amounted to EUR406.6 million from EUR355.9 million in the first nine months of 2022.

Banca Monte Paschi Siena -- up 3.3 percent -- reported Wednesday that it returned to growth in the first nine months of the year, reporting a net profit of EUR929 million compared to a loss of EUR334 million in the same period of 2022. In the third quarter, profit stood at EUR310 million.

UniCredit -- up 0.9 percent -- on Tuesday issued a EUR750 million senior preferred green bond with a maturity of six years and three months and the possibility of early redemption after five years and three months, aimed at institutional investors. The issuance comes following a book-building process that gathered demand for more than EUR2 billion from more than 150 investors globally.

The board of Banco BPM -- up 1.3 percent -- on Tuesday approved the balance sheet and income statement as of September 30, a period that ended with a positive net profit of EUR943.4 million from EUR487.4 million in the corresponding period of 2022.

Among the bullish, list minority, FinecoBank moved well, advancing 1.9 percent. The bank reported Tuesday that net income doubled to EUR454.2 million in the first nine months of the year compared with the same period last year, when it amounted to EUR302.7 million.

As of September 30, revenues were EUR916.7 million, up 34 percent from 2022 when they were EUR684.1 million.

Terna's board of directors -- down 0.2 percent -- approved the results as of September 30, reporting a net income of EUR641.7 million, up EUR54.8 million from EUR586.9 million in the first nine months of 2022. The board also resolved to distribute an interim ordinary dividend for fiscal year 2023 of EUR0.1146 per share, up 8 percent from the previous year.

Revenues for the first nine months of 2023, at EUR2.24 billion registered an increase of EUR254.7 million compared to the corresponding period of 2022, when they were EUR1.99 billion.

In the cadet segment, Technoprobe confirmed its good start, advancing 5.9 percent to EUR7.79 or so per share after a 1.0 percent rise on the eve of the event.

EuroGroup Laminations, meanwhile, posted a gain of 1.1 percent, for the third session in a row closed on the bullish side.

Credito Emiliano marked a 0.6 percent rise after reporting Wednesday that it nearly doubled net income in the first nine months, to EUR439 million from EUR226.2 million in the same period of 2022.

The result comes after expensing EUR58 million in contributions to troubled bank management funds and was influenced by positive financial margin performance and the cost of risk, which remained at low levels.

The board of directors of Banca Popolare di Sondrio -- up 1.1 percent -- on Tuesday approved the consolidated interim report as of Sept. 30, which closed with a consolidated net profit of EUR348.6 million compared with EUR151.3 million in the comparison period. This result comes from a consolidated gross profit of EUR507 million, from which taxes of EUR158.4 million must be deducted, corresponding to a tax rate of 31 percent.

Zignago Vetro -- down 1.2 percent -- reported Tuesday that it closed the first nine months with revenues up 18 percent year-on-year to EUR545.9 million from EUR464.3 million in the same period a year earlier. Ebitda flew to EUR168.5 million from EUR97.3 million, and operating income rose to EUR116.0 million from EUR51.9 million.

On the Small-Cap, Softlab rose 2.4 percent and reversed course from this morning's negative start.

The board of Banca Profilo -- down 1.5% -- on Wednesday approved the consolidated interim report on operations as of September 30, a period that ended with a net profit of EUR10.6 million, up EUR2.2 million from the result for the same period last year, when it was EUR8.4 million.

Gabetti rose 3.0 percent after a 3.9 percent decline in the eve.

Among SMEs, however, Casta Diva advanced 14 percent to EUR1.30 or so per share, heading for the third session to close among the bullish. On Tuesday it announced that it had signed a share purchase agreement to buy a 100 percent stake in Akita Srl-the wholly owned parent company of Akita Off Srl-one of Italy's leading commercial production houses.

GEL, on the other hand, rallied 3.3 percent to EUR1.26 per share after four sessions ended among the bearish.

In Asia, the Nikkei gained 1.5 percent to 32,646.46, the Hang Seng is in the red 0.2 percent to 17,533.83, while the Shanghai Composite is in fractional green at 3,053.28.

In New York on Wednesday, the Dow Jones closed in the red 0.1 percent to 34,112.27, the S&P finished up 0.1 percent to 4,382.78, while the Nasdaq closed in the green 0.1 percent to 13,650.41.

Among currencies, the euro changed hands at USD1.0705 against USD1.0687 recorded at Wednesday's European stock close, while the pound was worth USD1.2279 from USD1.2268 last night.

Among commodities, Brent crude is worth USD80.20 per barrel from USD80.76 per barrel at yesterday's close. Gold, on the other hand, trades at USD1,955.40 an ounce from USD1,958.02 an ounce last night.

Thursday's macroeconomic calendar includes the European Central Bank's monthly report at 1000 CET while a 12-month BOT auction will be held in Italy at 1110 CET.

In the afternoon, focus on jobless claims from the U.S. at 1430 CET, two hours before data on gas stocks and three hours before the auction of four- and eight-week Treasury bonds.

Later in the day, several central bank representatives will speak, with Christine Lagarde at 1830 CET and Jerome Powell at 2000 CET among the most anticipated. The calendar closes with the Federal Reserve's budget, coming up at 2130 CET.

By Claudia Cavaliere, Alliance News reporter

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