Italian equities finished the trading session lower on Thursday, with losses concentrated in the Financials, Technology and Chemicals segments and the benchmark index ending the day in negative territory.
At the close in Milan, the Italy 40 index fell 0.71%.
Top movers
Among individual stocks, Leonardo SpA (BIT:LDOF) led the gainers, advancing 5.69% - a rise of 3.44 points - to finish at 63.88. Eni SpA (BIT:ENI) recorded a 2.26% increase, adding 0.48 points to close at 21.76, while Telecom Italia (BIT:TLIT) ended the day up 1.99%, gaining 0.01 points to trade at 0.61.
Heaviest declines
On the downside, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA (BIT:BMPS) fell 4.33%, a loss of 0.32 points, to close at 7.16. Mediobanca Banca di Credito Finanziario SpA (BIT:MDBI) declined 3.88%, down 0.64 points to 15.86, and UniCredit SpA (BIT:CRDI) slipped 3.74%, a drop of 2.53 points to end at 65.07.
Market breadth in Milan favored decliners, with 428 stocks falling against 237 advancing, while 33 issues finished unchanged.
Notable technical marks
Shares of Leonardo reached an all-time high in the session, closing at 63.88 following the 5.69% uptick. Eni's share price moved to a five-year high after the 2.26% rise that took it to 21.76.
Commodities and FX snapshot
Commodity markets saw notable volatility: crude oil for April delivery rose 8.46% - up $7.38 - to $94.63 a barrel. Brent oil for May delivery increased 7.82%, or $7.19, to $99.17 a barrel. By contrast, the April Gold Futures contract fell 0.89%, down $46.11, to trade at $5,132.99 per troy ounce.
In currency trading, EUR/USD was effectively unchanged at 1.15, reflecting a 0.33% move reported for the session, while EUR/GBP was reported unchanged at 0.86 with a 0.07% move. The US Dollar Index Futures was higher, up 0.38% at 99.60.
This summary presents the market moves at the close in Milan and related commodity and currency figures as reported for the session.