FTSE MIB Closes Sharply Lower
2026-08-18 16:09
By
Larissa Caser
1 min. read
The FTSE MIB fell 1.1% to 53,018 on Tuesday, weighed down by soaring bond yields.
Sovereign yields climbed to multi-year highs across major economies as a prolonged conflict in the Middle East keeps inflation risks elevated, while technology firms increase bond issuance at longer maturities to finance AI investments.
STMicroelectronics led the losses, plunging 7.6%, while Prysmian fell 4.9% as concerns over excessive AI spending persist.
Financials also underperformed as higher sovereign yields weighed on their balance sheets, with FinecoBank, UniCredit, BPER Banca and Banco BPM falling more than 1%.
Meanwhile, utilities outperformed, recovering from recent selling pressure.
Nexi gained 2% as Stripe’s M&A activity improved sentiment across the digital payments sector.