The FTSE MIB Index Closes 0.13% Lower

The FTSE MIB Index decreased 68 points or 0.13 percent on Thursday to close at 51807 points. The decline was led by Moncler (-2.93%), Avio (-2.74%) and Buzzi Unicem (-2.71%). On the upside, the strongest performers were Lottomatica (4.68%), Leonardo SpA (3.22%) and Infrastrutture Wire (2.49%).

The FTSE MIB closed largely unchanged at 51,807 on Thursday, as investors remained cautious amid rising global oil prices, while the US-Iran war showed no sign of waning, fuelling inflation concerns and pushing sovereign yields higher. The ECB raised its key policy rate at its September meeting while warning that inflation could remain elevated, increasing bets on further hikes and clouding the outlook for credit demand. In Milan, the banking game remained in focus as Intesa Sanpaolo (0.1%) shareholders approved the capital increase for the takeover bid of MPS (0.6%), which is set to vote on its defense plan in late October. In turn, Eni rose 0.4%, tracking higher global oil prices. Leonardo advanced 2.9% after BNP Paribas upgraded its rating. Luxury stocks extended their decline from the previous session, led by Moncler (-3.5%). Stellantis fell 0.5% after the company recalled more than 200,000 vehicles due to a software error.

The FTSE MIB rose to around 52,000 on Thursday, recouping losses from the previous session, as markets focused on the ECB’s monetary policy decision later in the day. The central bank is widely expected to raise rates by 25bps, with attention turning to ECB President Christine Lagarde’s guidance on the policy outlook. Markets will particularly watch for signals on whether further rate hikes may be warranted as rising oil prices add to inflationary pressures. Utility stocks outperformed as European gas prices remained around a three-year high. Snam rose nearly 2%, while its peers Enel, Italgas, Terna, A2A and Hera rose between 0.2% and 1.3%. Financial stocks were also mostly in the green, including UniCredit (+0.6%), Intesa Sanpaolo (+0.9%), Unipol Gruppo (+0.6%), Banca Mediolanum (+0.7%), and MPS (+0.9%).