(Alliance News) - Piazza Affari opens Tuesday's trading session slightly down, as expected from futures indications before the start of trading, with Saipem, however, leading the blue chip list after presenting last year's accounts.

Also worth noting is the good performance of the euro, which is back above 1.06 against the dollar at the start.

The FTSE Mib falls 0.5 percent to 27,328.73, the Mid-Cap gives up 0.2 percent to 44,784.05, the Small-Cap rises 0.1 percent to 30,264.96, and Italy Growth is down 0.9 percent to 9,542.68.

In Europe, London's FTSE 100 is down 0.4 percent to 7,903.82, Paris' CAC 40 gives up 0.5 percent to 7,257.36, and Frankfurt's DAX 40 is down 0.5 percent to 15,299.66.

As anticipated, on the highest capitalization list in Piazza Affari, Saipem is off to a good start, up 5.6 percent and contrasting with the performance of the rest of the basket.

Saipem's board of directors announced Monday that it had reviewed preliminary figures for fiscal year 2022, reporting a net loss of EUR209 million from one for EUR2.46 billion in 2021.

Revenues as of Dec. 31, 2022 are EUR9.98 billion from EUR6.52 billion, while adjusted EBITDA is EUR595 million from a loss for EUR1.27 billion in 2021. Technical investments amount to EUR523 million from EUR246 million in 2021.

Post-IFRS 16 Net Financial Position is negative EUR264 million from a negative EUR1.54 billion as of December 31, 2021.

New order intake is EUR12.9 billion from EUR6.95 billion in 2021; order backlog is EUR24.01 billion from EUR21.236 billion as of December 31, 2021, which increases to EUR24.37 billion including the order backlog of unconsolidated companies from EUR23.18 billion as of December 31, 2021.

The company then revised targets for 2023 and 2026, expecting revenues to rise above EUR11 billion and above EUR12 billion, respectively.

Nexi did well, gaining 1.8 percent, after signing an agreement for a long-term partnership in the Spanish market with Banco Sabadell.

The agreement calls for Nexi to take over 80% of Banco Sabadell's merchant acquiring business, following the spin-off of the asset into PayComet, a subsidiary of the Spanish institution, for an upfront cash consideration of EUR280 million, reflecting an enterprise value of EUR350 million for the entire capital of the asset.

Nexi will finance the transaction entirely from available cash resources. There is also an exclusive distribution agreement with an initial term of 10 years, with two potential renewals of an additional five years each.

At the bottom of the basket is Italgas, down 1.6 percent, while all other utilities lose ground, with Snam in the red by 1.1 percent.

Banca Generali drops 0.6 percent shortly after announcing that it has acquired a 9.8 percent stake in ESG financial boutique Mainstreet Parners.

The entry into the capital comes in fact following the completion of the acquisition of a majority stake--65 percent--in Mainstreet Partners itself by WealthTech platform Allfunds, thus strengthening the partnership of expertise and services between the various shareholders. The management team, led by CEO, Rodolfo Fracassi, will remain a 25 percent shareholder in the company.

On the Mid-Cap, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena collapses, down 12 percent theoretically-no price, for now-after AXA last night announced plans to sell nearly its entire stake in the Siena-based institution.

AXA, which currently holds a 7.9 percent stake in Monte dei Paschi, announced Monday that it would begin selling 100.0 million shares in the bank in a private placement through an accelerated bookbuilding reserved for institutional investors.

Following the expected completion of the offering, AXA will retain close to 0 percent of MPS's share capital, or 8,907 shares in the credit institution.

"As a long-standing joint venture partner of the bank, AXA supported MPS by participating in its last capital increase as a financial investment. As AXA does not wish to be represented on the board of directors at the upcoming annual general meeting of the bank's shareholders or influence the bank's broader long-term strategy, AXA believes it is appropriate to sell its purchased stake in the capital increase," the French company said.

Among small-cap companies, Autostrade Merididionali's golden moment continues, up 21 percent shortly after the bell rings.

KME Group, on the other hand, gains 13 percent after its board approved guidelines for an OPAS on the company's 100.0 million treasury shares and warrants to 2024.

For the 100.0 million shares, representing 31 percent of the company's capital, EUR0.90 per share will be offered; for the warrants, on the other hand, the offer is for a voluntary exchange in the ratio of one ordinary share for every 2.3 warrants brought in.

Specifically, the company will pay each bidder a total unit consideration consisting of EUR0.50 for each ordinary share of KME, for a total consideration of EUR50 million; and 0.0174 shares of Culti Milano - for each ordinary share of KME, for a maximum total amount of 1.7 million shares of Culti Milano - up 0.9% on Italy Growth -, with a unit value of EUR0.40.

Also with reference to the consideration in shares, KME reports that it has ongoing negotiations for the sale of its entire stake in Culti Milano altogether represented by 2.4 million shares in Culti Milano, equal to 77 percent of the company's share capital, and that if, before the conclusion of the offer acceptance period, KME were to sign a binding preliminary share purchase agreement or finalize the sale of Culti Milano shares, the consideration in shares would be converted into cash.

On the alternative capital market list of Piazza Affari, few stocks are still trading, but it is worth noting the sprint of Energy, up 4.9 percent, which earlier announced that it has signed an important strategic agreement to establish a corporate joint venture with Pylon Technologies Europe Holding, a Dutch-registered wholly owned subsidiary of Pylon Technologies Co.

Pylon Technologies is listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and has a capitalization of about CNY46 billion, or about USD6.6 billion, and is among the World's leading manufacturers of stationary cyclic lithium batteries for energy storage from renewable sources.

In Asia, the Nikkei closed Tuesday up 0.8 percent to 27,445.56, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.7 percent to 3,279.61 while the Hang Seng fell 0.8 percent to 19,785.94.

In New York on Monday, the Dow Jones closed up 0.2 percent to 32,889.09, the S&P rose 0.3 percent to 3,982.24 while the Nasdaq rose 0.6 percent to 11,466.98.

Among currencies, the euro changed hands at USD1.0603 against USD1.0593 at Monday's close. In contrast, the pound is worth USD1.2038 from USD1.2024 on Monday evening.

Among commodities, Brent crude is worth USD83.00 per barrel versus USD82.65 per barrel on Monday evening. Gold, on the other hand, trades at USD1,810.58 an ounce from USD1,815.51 an ounce at Monday's close.

On Tuesday's macroeconomic calendar, at 1000 CET, from Italy, space is given to the Italian industrial sales figure and the non-EU trade balance.

From the States, at 1430 CET, eyes on the goods-only trade balance while, at 2230 CET, it will be the turn of weekly oil stocks.

Among the companies in Piazza Affari, results from Intesa Sanpolo, Jonix, Moncler, Omer and 4AIM Sicaf are expected.

By Giuseppe Fabio Ciccomascolo, Alliance News senior reporter

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