Italian share prices closed in negative territory on Friday, with the benchmark Investing.com Italy 40 sliding 1.07% as the session concluded in Milan. The index registered a fresh one-month low at the close.
Market declines were driven by weakness across several sectors, notably Technology, Financials and Telecoms. On the stock level, winners were concentrated in a handful of names: Leonardo SpA (BIT:LDOF) led gains on the index, rising 3.39% or 1.92 points to finish at 58.62. Fincantieri SpA (BIT:FCT) added 2.59% or 0.35 points to end at 13.87, and Eni SpA (BIT:ENI) advanced 1.51% or 0.31 points to close at 20.52.
By contrast, the session’s weakest performers included STMicroelectronics (BIT:STMMI), which fell 5.06% or 1.45 points to 27.14 at the close. Bper Banca SpA (BIT:EMII) retreated 3.80% or 0.43 points to 10.75, and Buzzi Unicem (BIT:BZU) declined 3.28% or 1.48 points to 43.62.
Breadth on the Milan exchange favored decliners: 479 stocks closed lower, 250 advanced and 45 were unchanged, underscoring a broadly negative session for Italian equities.
Notably, shares of Eni reached five-year highs during the session, finishing up 1.51% at 20.52. Commodity markets displayed strong upward moves alongside the equity sell-off. Crude oil for April delivery jumped 11.34% or 9.19 to $90.20 a barrel. Brent oil for May delivery rose 8.39% or 7.17 to $92.58 a barrel. Precious metals also moved higher, with the April Gold Futures contract up 1.21% or 61.61 to trade at $5,140.31 a troy ounce.
In currency trading, the euro held steady against the dollar and the pound. EUR/USD was essentially unchanged, up 0.08% to 1.16, while EUR/GBP was flat, reported at 0.87 after a 0.37% move. The US Dollar Index Futures ended lower, down 0.33% at 98.98.
Overall, the session left the Italian market lower with mixed stock-level results: a small group of energy and industrial names outperformed while losses were widespread across technology, banking and telecom companies.
- Market close: Investing.com Italy 40 down 1.07% to a one-month low.
- Top gainers: Leonardo SpA, Fincantieri SpA, Eni SpA.
- Top decliners: STMicroelectronics, Bper Banca SpA, Buzzi Unicem.