Italian equity markets closed with a modest gain on Friday, with strength concentrated in the Industrials, Oil & Gas and Telecoms sectors pushing the benchmark higher.
At the close in Milan the Italy 40 index was up 0.13%.
Winners and losers
The session's strongest performer on the Italy 40 was Prysmian SpA (BIT:PRY), which climbed 3.59% - a rise of 3.57 points - to finish at 102.95. Building materials group Buzzi Unicem (BIT:BZU) advanced 2.71%, gaining 1.30 points to close at 49.20. Telecom Italia (BIT:TLIT) also registered notable gains, rising 2.57% or 0.02 points to end the day at 0.60.
On the downside, Stellantis NV (BIT:STLAM) recorded the steepest fall, dropping 25.17% or 2.06 points to close at 6.11. Recordati (BIT:RECI) slipped 1.67%, down 0.80 points to 47.20, while Ferrari NV (BIT:RACE) declined 1.54% or 4.40 points to finish at 281.00.
Broader market breadth on the Milan exchange was positive, with rising stocks outnumbering decliners by 450 to 303 and 53 issues ending unchanged.
Notable milestone moves
Shares of Stellantis fell to five-year lows, ending the session at 6.11 after the 25.17% decline. By contrast, Telecom Italia shares reached five-year highs, closing at 0.60 following the 2.57% gain.
Commodities and currencies
Commodity markets saw gains during the session. Crude oil for March delivery rose 1.52%, an increase of 0.96, to trade at $64.25 a barrel. Brent for April delivery climbed 1.54% or 1.04 to $68.59 a barrel. The April Gold Futures contract moved higher by 1.83%, up 89.24, to trade at $4,978.74 a troy ounce.
Currency pairs and the dollar index were mixed. EUR/USD was unchanged 0.31% to 1.18, while EUR/GBP was unchanged 0.23% to 0.87. The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.18% at 97.53.
Market takeaways
- Italy 40 posted a small gain at the close, supported by gains in Industrials, Oil & Gas and Telecoms sectors.
- A small group of large-cap stocks drove session dynamics, with several names posting double-digit moves in both directions.
- Commodity prices were broadly higher, coinciding with mixed moves in currency markets and a slightly weaker dollar index.
These developments left Milan's market with positive breadth and a modest index advance as the trading day ended.