Italy stocks were lower after the close on Tuesday, as losses in the Financials, Telecoms and Oil & Gas sectors led shares lower.
At the close in Milan, the Investing.com Italy 40 fell 0.05%.
Top performers
The session's strongest gains on the index were led by Ferrari NV (BIT:RACE), which climbed 4.15% - a rise of 12.60 points - to finish at 316.50. Lottomatica Group SpA (BIT:LTMC) also advanced, adding 2.29% or 0.46 points to close at 20.54. Leonardo SpA (BIT:LDOF) rounded out the leading movers, ending the day up 2.04% or 1.18 points at 59.16.
Lagging names
On the downside, regional lenders underperformed. Banca Popolare di Sondrio ScpA (BIT:BPSI) declined 2.77% or 0.50 points to trade at 17.35 at the close. Banco Bpm SpA (BIT:BAMI) fell 2.65% or 0.35 points to end at 12.65, while Bper Banca SpA (BIT:EMII) was down 2.54% or 0.32 points to 12.09.
Market breadth and context
Market breadth on the Milan Stock Exchange showed more risers than fallers, with 372 stocks closing higher against 318 that fell. A further 49 issues finished unchanged.
Commodities and currencies
Commodities moved modestly in late trade. Crude oil for April delivery eased 0.51% or 0.34 to $65.97 a barrel. Brent oil for May delivery slipped 0.39% or 0.28 to $70.83 a barrel. Precious metals were weaker as the April Gold Futures contract fell 1.08% or 56.21 to trade at $5,169.39 a troy ounce.
Currency markets were relatively stable. EUR/USD was unchanged, moving 0.02% to 1.18, while EUR/GBP was unchanged at 0.27% to 0.87. The US Dollar Index Futures registered a slight uptick, rising 0.05% to 97.69.
What this means for market watchers
The close reflected a day in which sector-specific weakness - particularly within Financials, Telecoms and Oil & Gas - exerted enough pressure to offset gains in several large-cap stocks. Breadth remained positive overall, driven by the number of advancing issues, while oil and gold saw downward moves and the dollar showed a small gain in futures trading.
Note: This report reflects the trading session's closing levels and sector performance as reported at the close in Milan on Tuesday.