(Alliance News) - Europe's major stock markets ended the day mixed on Thursday as U.S. markets moved higher in hopes that the Fed will choose to leave its hike campaign on pause longer.

Indeed, the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits jumped to 261,000 in the week ended June 3, the highest figure since October 2021 and above market forecasts of 235,000, fueling speculation that the labor market is finally beginning to respond to the impact of past rate hikes and surges in inflation.

"A lot now depends on what the Fed says and does next week, and you will see stocks trading increasingly hesitant as the decision approaches," commented Chris Beauchamp, Chief Market Analyst at IG.

As a result, the FTSE Mib closed up 0.8 percent to 27,275.04, the Mid-Cap was up 0.4 percent to 42,939.46 as was the Small-Cap to 27,331.17, and Italy Growth rallied 0.1 percent to 9,173.21.

In Europe, London's FTSE 100 closed down 0.3 percent, Paris' CAC 40 rallied 0.3 percent and Frankfurt's DAX 40 finished up 0.2 percent.

The bullish-dominated Mib saw Mediobanca rise to the top with 2.3 percent, followed by FinecoBank and Leonardo, which gained 1.9 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively.

The oil sector-while Brent fell to USD76 despite the weekend announcements of production cuts decided by Saudi Arabia-sees Eni up 0.3%, Tenaris up 0.5%, Saipem in the red 0.3% and, on the Mid, Saras down 0.5%.

Banca Mediolanum ends in the red by 0.2% after reporting trading results for May on Thursday, reporting total net inflows of EUR403 million, for a total of EUR4.24 billion since the beginning of the year, which compares with EUR3.80 billion for the same period in 2022.

Banco BPM -- up 0.9 percent -- announced Wednesday that it has completed a new Green Senior Non Preferred issue, with a maturity of five years and the possibility of early redemption in June 2027, in the amount of EUR750 million.

Orders reached EUR1.3 billion. The bond was issued at a price of 99.955 percent and pays a fixed coupon of 6 percent

Intesa Sanpaolo advances 0.9% after presenting Wednesday in Naples new measures dedicated to the development of the tourism industry, vital for the Italian and southern economy, to support the growth of companies in the sector and seize the opportunities provided by PNRR and ministerial initiatives.

On the Mid-Cap, Autogrill - in the red by 0.2 percent - and the Hera group - which on the Mib ends in the green by 0.4 percent - announced Wednesday that they have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on initiatives in the areas of circular economy, sustainable mobility and environmental communication, in line with the goals for sustainable development defined by the UN 2030 Agenda.

UnipolSai advances 0.5 percent. The company raised the curtain on BeRebel, the "pay-per-you" insurtech, a first in Italy and Europe with a mileage-based, monthly, fully digital auto policy.

BeRebel provides a minimum monthly cost, of about EUR10, in which 200 km are included. At the end of the month, any extra km driven will be equalized at the cost per km indicated in the policy, which is about 2 cents per km. Any unused km can be carried over to the following month.

Anima Group's net inflows of assets under management-which closed up 1.4 percent-were positive EUR63 million in May 2023. At the end of May, total assets under management by the Anima Group stood at more than EUR183 billion.

At the top are DoValue - up 3.9 percent - and Juventus FC, which finished in the green by 3.3 percent.

On the Small-Cap, Mondo TV closed up 1.1 percent after announcing Thursday that it had signed a sales agreement with the Korean JEI Broadcasting corporation for the sale of the Weather Heroes series, seasons 1 and 2.

Bioera takes the top spot with an 11 percent rise followed by Conafi Prestitò, which finishes up 9.0 percent.

Tinexta reported that the Chief Financial Officer, Oddone Pozzi, has also been appointed as the company's senior financial reporting officer.

Among SMEs, CY4Gate, which closed in the green by 1.8 percent, announced Thursday that it has signed an agreement with DeepCyber of the Maggioli Group under which DeepCyber will provide support in terms of technologies and know-how in cyber threat intelligence that CY4Gate will integrate with a view to further strengthening its cyber security business line.

Friulchem - in the red by 1.0 percent - announced Thursday that it has approved the signing of a framework contract with Evultis SA concerning the supply to Friulchem by Evultis - the company's historical raw material supplier - of certain active ingredients and intermediates, for a maximum total amount on an annual basis of EUR3.5 million and for a maximum number of orders, over 12 months, of 50.

Datrix - in the green by 2.6 percent - announced on Thursday that ByTek, the group's martech company, has extended its collaboration with Crédit Agricole Italia, gaining entrustment of the bank's digital activities until 2024.

The martech company is managing, in particular, optimizations on properties related to the banking player's Accounts and Mortgages portals, with Data Strategy activities and strategy enhancement on search and conversions.

In New York, the Dow is up 0.3 percent to 33,757.06 the Nasdaq rises 0.8 percent to 13,209.23 and the S&P 500 advances 0.4 percent to 4,283.55.

Among currencies, the euro changes hands at USD1.0774 versus USD1.0706 on Wednesday in closing European equities. In contrast, the pound is worth USD1.2543 from USD1.2459 last night.

Among commodities, Brent crude is worth USD76.31 per barrel versus USD77.37 per barrel Wednesday night. Gold, on the other hand, trades at USD1,965.67 an ounce from USD1,957.87 an ounce Wednesday night.

On Friday's economic calendar, at 0330 CEST, consumer price index data will be released in China.

At 1000 CEST, in Italy, the industrial production data is expected followed at 1100 CEST by the auction of 12-month BOTs.

At 1430 CEST, some macros are expected from Canada, including the change in the level of employment.

As for Piazza Affari, results from Fenix Entertainment and Gequity are expected.

By Chiara Bruschi, Alliance News reporter

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