European markets are also finding support from positive U.S. futures following Friday's sharp sell-off.
Signs of a widening conflict in the Middle East, with Yemeni Houthi intervention against Israel in alignment with Iran, could pose new hurdles for maritime traffic in the Red Sea—another critical oil trade hub alongside the Strait of Hormuz. Consequently, crude oil is trading around 115 dollars per barrel after surging nearly 60% in March.
As of 1:00 p.m., the FTSE Mib index is up 0.6%, though it has shed nearly 8% since the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran in late February. Trading volumes remain thin, staying below 1 billion euros.
Key stock movers include:
** FERRAGAMO (+5.3%) is in the spotlight following an upgrade to "outperform" from "underperform" by Bernstein. The brokerage "finally" sees encouraging signs in the brand's turnaround strategy, despite—or perhaps because of—the current lack of a CEO.
** The energy sector is performing well (+1.3% for the index) led by ENEL and ENI, while renewables firm ERG is also climbing (+2.4%).
** Conversely, the defense sector is retreating, with LEONARDO down 1.5% and AVIO falling 3%. FINCANTIERI has recovered to trade flat. Regarding Leonardo, Equita cited new rumors of a potential leadership change at the state-backed firm, noting that the market would likely react unfavorably.
** Banks are also under pressure (-0.9%), with MPS and UNICREDIT both losing more than 1%.
** FERRARI (+2.7%) remains resilient despite the war threatening profits in the lucrative Middle Eastern luxury car market.
** BFF Bank is plunging nearly 50% after the Bank of Italy appointed two extraordinary commissioners to temporarily assist the Board. The central bank identified accounting irregularities that could generate additional "past due" exposures totaling up to 1.3 billion euros.
** TREVI is also cratering, down approximately 33%, following the announcement of a financial restructuring plan that includes a 100 million euro rights issue expected to be completed by the third quarter of this year.
** INWIT (-0.3%) has recovered from its lows, while TIM is up slightly (+0.7%). TIM has sent a termination notice for the Master Service Agreement (MSA) to the tower company upon its expiry, a move that INWIT is legally contesting.
(Claudia Cristoferi, editing by Andrea Mandalà)
