Stocks in Italy ended Wednesday's trading session with net gains, as the Investing.com Italy 40 finished the day higher by 1.25% at the close in Milan. The market advance was led by sectors including Technology, Industrials and Travel & Leisure.
Among individual contributors, Mediobanca Banca di Credito Finanziario SpA (BIT:MDBI) was the top performer on the index, climbing 5.70% - a rise of 1.03 points - to finish at 19.18. Leonardo SpA (BIT:LDOF) added 4.68%, gaining 2.60 points to close at 58.10. Semiconductor group STMicroelectronics (BIT:STMMI) also posted a notable advance, up 3.86% or 1.07 points to 28.78 in late trade.
On the downside, several prominent names lost ground. Ferrari NV (BIT:RACE) fell 2.58%, a decrease of 8.20 points, to end the session at 310.10. Hearing-care specialist Amplifon (BIT:AMPF) declined 2.14% or 0.29 points to close at 13.26. Telecom Italia (BIT:TLIT) was down 1.68%, slipping 0.01 points to 0.65.
Market breadth at the Milan Stock Exchange favored advancing issues, with 454 stocks closing higher against 249 that declined. A further 59 shares finished unchanged.
Commodities moved higher during the session. Crude oil for April delivery rose 3.77% or 2.35 to trade at $64.61 a barrel. Brent oil for April delivery increased 3.56% or 2.40 to $69.82 a barrel. Precious metals also advanced, with the April Gold Futures contract up 2.33% or 114.31 to trade at $5,020.21 a troy ounce.
Foreign exchange markets were relatively muted in the session. EUR/USD was unchanged 0.35% to 1.18, while EUR/GBP was unchanged 0.13% to 0.87. The US Dollar Index Futures rose 0.37% to 97.42.
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