The FTSE MIB Index Closes 0.67% Higher

The FTSE MIB Index gained 351 points or 0.67 percent on Friday to close at 52616 points. Gains were led by Stellantis N.V. (2.40%), Bper Banca (2.21%) and Buzzi Unicem (2.10%). Biggest losers were Leonardo SpA (-3.87%), Fincantieri (-1.73%) and Prysmian (-0.89%).

The FTSE MIB rose 0.7% to 52,654 on Friday, supported by upbeat sentiment across sectors. Merger talks continued to overshadow financials, with Generali (0.5%) saying MPS’s (0.3%) takeover bid for Banca Generali offers “growth opportunities.” Unipol's (1.2%) Chairman said MPS would “lead” a merger with BPER (2.2%) and become the second-largest banking group in Italy. Meanwhile, Fed sentiment turned hawkish following Fed Chairman Warsh's statements that if inflation wasn't returning to target, they "would have work to do". The ECB is also expected to raise rates in September, potentially weighing on lenders. European automakers are feeling the squeeze from Chinese carmakers’ advances, with Stellantis (2.3%) reportedly allowing Chinese automakers to share their factories to ease overcapacity. Utilities gained as European gas prices declined. Meanwhile, defense stocks underperformed following reports of a possible reversal by the UK Finance Minister on planned defense spending.

The FTSE MIB rose to around 52,700 on Friday, recouping some of the previous session’s losses and mirroring gains across broader European equities, as investors adopted a more positive stance ahead of Fed Chair Kevin Warsh’s Jackson Hole speech. Heavyweight financials led the gains amid ongoing bank merger talks. Unipol Chairman Carlo Cimbri said MPS’s headquarters would remain in Siena if Intesa Sanpaolo’s takeover succeeds, while ruling out forced layoffs from a potential MPS-BPER combination. UniCredit, Intesa Sanpaolo, Mediobanca, Unipol and MPS gained around 1%-2%. Gains were also broad-based outside financials, with notable advances in Tenaris (+1.7%), Moncler (+1.7%), STMicroelectronics (+1.2%) and Prysmian (+1.1%). Eni also rebounded by more than 1% after recent declines linked to concerns over a potential Italian windfall tax on energy companies. For the week, the index is heading for a modest performance but remains on track for a gain of more than 2% for the month.