(Alliance News) - Major European stock markets closed in negative territory on Tuesday as U.S. stocks tried to hold on in the opening after Federal Reserve number one Jerome Powell's speech in Stockholm in the afternoon.

"European markets spent most of the day down, with some profit-taking after a very positive start to the year. This week's U.S. consumer price index report is set to become the latest stage in the ongoing tug-of-war between the market, which believes the Fed will have to cut rates this year, and Fed officials who insist that nothing like that will happen," commented Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets.

However, "it was expected that Fed Chairman Jay Powell's comments today in Stockholm might have contained a hawkish expression, but he confined himself to talking about climate change and the Fed's reluctance to intervene in policy on the subject, rather than the investment climate. The absence of comments on monetary policy issues helped lift markets in early trade, thus shifting attention to CPI data, due on Thursday."

Thus, the FTSE Mib closed down 0.1 percent at 25,364.61, the Mid-Cap lost 0.5 percent to 41,413.51, the Small-Cap rose 0.3 percent to 28,945.86, and Italy Growth finished 0.2 percent lower at 9,441.41.

The FTSE 100 closed down 0.4 percent while Paris' CAC 40 fell 0.6 percent and Frankfurt's DAX 40 lost 0.1 percent.

On the main list in Piazza Affari, Moncler gave up 1.5 percent. UBS raised its target price to EUR63.00 from EUR57.00.

Enel - in the red by 1.1 percent - announced on Monday evening that it had successfully launched on the European market the issuance of non-convertible, subordinated hybrid perpetual bonds with a euro denomination, aimed at institutional investors, for a total amount of EUR1.75 billion.

The issue received oversubscription requests more than 8 times, totaling orders amounting to about EUR15 billion.

Terna closes in the green by 0.3 percent, after reporting that the Ministry of Environment and Energy Security has started the authorization process for the 'Bolano-Annunziata,' Terna's new electricity infrastructure that will connect Sicily with Calabria. For the construction of the work, which is strategic for the entire Italian electricity system, the company led by Stefano Donnarumma will invest EUR105 million.

FinecoBank - up 1.2 percent - reported Tuesday that net inflows hit an all-time high of EUR1.59 billion in December, up 13 percent from EUR1.4 billion in the same period a year ago.

For the whole of 2022, net inflows exceeded the EUR10 billion mark for the second year in a row, with the managed component at EUR3.6 billion and the administered at EUR5.6 billion.

On the Mid-Cap, Juventus FC gives up 3.3 percent, following its 1.4 percent loss on the eve of the event.

Brunello Cucinelli closes down 0.8 percent. The company's board of directors on Monday reviewed preliminary consolidated net sales revenues for the year 2022 and net debt as of December 31, 2022, reporting revenues for Italy of EUR102.6 million, up 22% from 2021, when they amounted to EUR84.2 million.

As for Europe, revenues amount to EUR263.8 million from EUR219.1 million. Net revenues for 2022 amounted to EUR919.4 million from EUR712.1 million in the previous year.

Sesa - down 1.5 percent - on Tuesday announced that it has signed an industrial partnership agreement, through its subsidiary Var Group, to acquire a majority stake in Amaeco, thereby consolidating its digitalization and sustainability expertise to support the digital evolution needs of Made in Italy.

Amaeco, based in Fiorano Modenese and employing about 15 human resources, operates in the development and design of energy monitoring systems and eco-sustainability performance through proprietary software solutions with a focus on the enterprise market and expected revenues in the year 2023 of about EUR1.5 million, with an Ebitda margin of about 20 percent and important growth prospects.

SOL, on the other hand, rises 4.2 percent to EUR19.20, standing as the best in the list. It is worth mentioning that on the stock Berenberg started hedging with fair value at EUR24.40.

On the Small-Cap, Cellularline - flat at EUR3.00 - announced Monday evening that the board of directors has appointed Marco Cagnetta, co-ceo of the Cellularline group, as interim investor relator of the company.

Piquadro - up 3.1 percent - on Tuesday reported consolidated sales figures for the first nine months ended December 31, 2022, amounting to EUR126.8 million and up 16 percent from the same period last year, when they were EUR109.4 million.

Among SMEs, Fenix Entertainment - up 0.7 percent - reported Tuesday that on January 9, 2023, an agreement was signed with U.S. company ClaRo Productions for a first major international film whose shooting will begin in Rome on March 1.

This is a co-production deal for the film "Here After," which will see Roberto Salerno make his directorial debut. The film will have a budget of about EUR8 million and will shoot for five weeks. Fenix's financial commitment is EUR2 million.

Comal, on the other hand, advances 0.7 percent. The company announced that it has entered into a new contract with DCS Srl, SPV of a major foreign energy investor, for the construction of a 150 MWp ground-mounted photovoltaic plant under an EPC-M formula.

The contract is worth EUR53 million and includes the supply of the Sunhunter tracker made by Comal. The plant will be built in Tuscania in the province of Viterbo. The project will start in April 2023 and will be completed by January 2024.

Omer - up 2.4 percent - on Tuesday reported that it has signed a contract with the Alstom group to supply various interiors components for the "Line B Réseau Express Régional" project in Paris.

Directa SIM - down 0.7 percent - reported that at the end of the year, the number of open accounts exceeded 61,000 to 61,348, up more than 20 percent from a year ago and more than double the number as of Jan. 1, 2020, when there were a total of about 29,600. Of these, 7,849 - up 21 percent in three years - are now accounts opened at one of the more than 150 Banks that have an agreement with Directa to offer the SIM's online trading services.

In New York, the Dow is in fractional green at 33,527.26, as is the S&P 500 at 3,892.80 while the Nasdaq gains 0.1 percent to 10,652.21.

Among currencies, the euro changes hands at USD1.0736 versus USD1.0748 at Monday's close. In contrast, the pound is worth USD1.2145 from USD1.2198 on Monday evening.

Among commodities, Brent crude is worth USD79.94 a barrel from USD80.03 a barrel last night. Gold, meanwhile, trades at USD1,880.30 an ounce from USD1,880.45 an ounce last night.

On Wednesday's economic calendar, data on Japanese foreign reserves in dollars are due at 0050 CET.

In Europe, the morning begins at 0900 CET in Spain with data on industrial production.

An hour later, retail sales data will be released in Italy, while at 1030 CET, there will be loans granted on real estate collateral in the United Kingdom, and at 1110 CET an auction of Italian twelve-month BOTs is expected.

As usual, at 1300 CET, the rate on 30-year MBA mortgages and mortgage applications will be released in the United States.

At 1630 CET, it is the turn of crude oil stocks.

Among the companies listed on the Piazza Affari, no particular announcements are expected.

By Claudia Cavaliere, Alliance News reporter

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