The following factors could affect Italian markets on Monday.
Reuters has not verified the newspaper reports, and cannot vouch for their accuracy. New items are marked with (*).
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GENERAL
Italy reported 51,959 COVID-19 related cases on Sunday, against 62,231 the day before, the health ministry said, while the number of deaths fell to 191 from 269.
Italy’s foreign ministry has called on Italian citizens to temporarily leave Ukraine due to the security situation there and asked them to postpone any non-essential trips to the country, it said in an update to its travel recommendations on Saturday.
ECONOMY
The European Central Bank (ECB) will keep a flexible approach as it unwinds its ultra-expansionary monetary policy, monitoring not only inflation threats but also risks of uneven financing conditions across euro zone countries, a top policymaker said. read more
State lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) cannot be a ‘fix-it-all’ for Italy’s financial system and underperforming economy, its chief executive said on Saturday.
COMPANIES
BANKS
Credit Agricole will focus on internal growth to further boost its presence in Italy, Giampiero Maioli, the head of its Italian operations, said in an interview with Il Sole 24 Ore published on Saturday.
Maioli said Credit Agricole Italia was not studying any transactions at the moment and ruled out any interest for state-owned bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena.
BANCO BPM (BAMI.MI), UNICREDIT (CRDI.MI)
Shares in Italy’s Banco BPM climbed on Friday almost 10% after renewed speculation that larger rival UniCredit could launch a takeover bid for the lender. A spokesman for UniCredit said the lender continued to evaluate all available strategic options.
Banco BPM is focused on growth opportunities as a standalone lender, Giuseppe Castagna, the head of Italy’s third-largest bank said on Saturday, a day after renewed speculation that larger rival UniCredit could launch a takeover bid pushed shares up 10%. read more
Asked about potential interest from UniCredit, Castagna said his bank had not received any communication from its larger peer in that regard.
The UniCredit-Banco BPM dossier is under scrutiny by the ECB, daily la Stampa said on Sunday, without giving any details.
UniCredit is said to have involved Roberto Cappelli, a lawyer from boutique law firm RCCD, in a first ‘exercise’ regarding a potential offer, Il Messaggero said on Saturday.
BPER BANCA (EMII.MI), CARIGE (CRGI.MI)
BPER Banca holds a board meeting to approve its offer to buy rival lender Carige. FITD, the Italian banking fund that has picked BPER Banca over rival bids to negotiate the sale of its 80% stake in Carige, also holds a board meeting.
INTESA SANPAOLO (ISP.MI)
Intesa Sanpaolo’s strategy plan to 2025 is conservative and Italy’s biggest bank will likely post higher profits at the end of it than forecast, its chairman said on Saturday.
Speaking on the sidelines of the ASSIOM FOREX event, Gian-Maria Gros Pietro also said the lender was likely to pay out higher shareholder returns over the plan period than planned.
Asked about cross-border M&A, Gros Pietro added his bank did not see any concrete opportunities at the European level, but was monitoring the situation.
The Cariplo Foundation, one of the bank’s shareholders, would be in favour of confirming Intesa Sanpaolo’s present management given the results and business plan presented on Feb. 4, its president, Giovanni Fosti, told Milano Finanza in an interview published on Saturday, adding however that nothing had been decided yet.
ENI
Italy published on Saturday the map of onshore and offshore areas where companies will be allowed to explore for gas, but not oil, effectively lifting a ban on new concessions. The map comes as the government considers measures to boost domestic gas production to help mitigate energy prices. Eni is Italy’s biggest domestic gas explorer.
STELLANTIS (STLA.MI)
An agreement between the Rome government and Stellantis for the carmaker’s planned battery plant in Termoli, southern Italy, will be signed “in a few days”, Industry Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti told Corriere della Sera in an interview published on Sunday. read more
GENERALI (GASI.MI)
Europe and Asia continue to be the main areas of interest for the insurer in terms of potential acuiqisitions, its M&A head Massimiliano Ottochian told Milano Finanza in an interview published on Saturday. He added that India, Malaysia, Thailand and China were the markets it was focusing on in Asia.
TELECOM ITALIA (TIM) (TLIT.MI)
Ordinary board meeting.
INTERPUMP GROUP (ITPG.MI)
Board meeting on Q4 results.
BANCA GENERALI (BGN.MI)
Board meeting on 2022-2024 industrial plan, followed by online news conference (1215 GMT) and ‘Investor Day’ (1330 GMT).
ENERGICA MOTOR COMPANY (EMCC.MI)
Ideanomics starts full voluntary takeover bid on Energica Motor Company shares, ends on March 4.
BANCA PROFILO (PRO.MI)
British private equity fund RiverRock has made a binding offer for a 29% stake in Banca Profilo, Il Sole 24 Ore said on Saturday. The bank could not be reached for a comment.
(*) BANCA IFIS
The Italian challenger bank could consider acquisitions only if they are close to its core business, Chief Executive Frederik Geertman said in an interview with Corriere della Sera published on Monday, but added for the moment the lender was focused on organic growth.
AS ROMA (ASR.MI)
Bryan Cristante scored a 94th-minute equaliser to rescue a 2-2 Serie A draw for AS Roma at Sassuolo on Sunday, as Jose Mourinho’s side lost more ground in the race for European qualification.
(*) JUVENTUS (JUVE.MI)
Juventus defender Danilo headed home a stoppage-time equaliser to rescue a 1-1 Serie A draw at Atalanta on Sunday and earn a point that could prove crucial to the Bianconeri’s top-four ambitions. read more
(*) LAZIO (LAZI.MI)
Lazio beat Bologna 3-0 on Saturday.
IPO, TECHNOPROBE
Technoprobe has set its initial public offering (IPO) at 5.7 euros per share, towards the lower end of an initial price range of 5.4-6.3 euros, valuing the Italian microelectronics company at 3.4 billion euros, it said on Saturday, confirming what sources told Reuters on Friday.
IPO, CIVITANAVI SYSTEMS
The design, development and production of inertial navigation and stabilization systems company ends IPO.
DIARY
Rome, banking association ABI Director General Giovanni Sabatini speaks before Senate Budget Committee on “DDL Sostegni” stimulus package (0930 GMT).
((Milan newsroom, e-mail: reutersitaly@thomsonreuters.com))
For Italian market data and news, click on codes in
brackets:
20 biggest gainers (in percentage)…………(.PG.MI)
20 biggest losers (in percentage)………….(.PL.MI)
FTSE IT allshare index (.FTITLMS)
FTSE Mib index…….. (.FTMIB)
FTSE Allstars index… (.FTSTAR)
FTSE Mid Cap index…. (.FTITMC)
Block trades………. (.BLK.MI)
Stories on Italy……
For pan-European market data and news, click on codes in
brackets:
European Equities speed guide……………….
FTSEurofirst 300 index…………………………(.FTEU3)
DJ STOXX index………………………………..(.STOXX)
Top 10 STOXX sectors………………………(.PGL.STOXXS)
Top 10 EUROSTOXX sectors………………….(.PGL.STOXXES)
Top 10 Eurofirst 300 sectors……………….(.PGL.FTEU3S)
Top 25 European pct gainers…………………..(.PG.PEUR)
Top 25 European pct losers……………………(.PL.PEUR)
Main stock markets:
Dow Jones……………(.DJI) Wall Street report …..
Nikkei 225………….(.N225) Tokyo report…………
FTSE 100……………(.FTSE) London report………..
Xetra DAX………….(.GDAXI) Frankfurt market stories.F
CAC-40……………..(.FCHI) Paris market stories….PA
World Indices……………………………….
Reuters survey of world bourse outlook………
Western European IPO diary……………………..
European Asset Allocation……………………
Reuters News at a Glance: Equities……………
Main currency report:………………………….
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