Meanwhile, a ten-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon came into effect last night, though observers continue to highlight the fragility of the truce on this front of the Middle Eastern conflict.
From a technical standpoint, the opening in Milan, as well as on other continental exchanges, is being influenced by the double witching of stock futures and options.
By 10:00 CET, the FTSE Mib index was up 0.47%, bolstered by cyclicals and financials, which offset weakness in the energy sector.
STELLANTIS and FERRARI are well-bid, both posting gains of around 2%.
Among financials, FINECOBANK stands out at the top of the FTSE Mib with a 2.5% rise. However, investor attention remains focused on traditional lenders following a series of shareholder meetings that reshaped the governance of two institutions currently in the M&A spotlight.
On Wednesday, MPS (+1.2%) delivered a surprise as an alternative slate of candidates defeated the board's nominees, reinstating Luigi Lovaglio at the helm of the Sienese bank. Yesterday, BANCO BPM (+0.6%) saw the outgoing board's list prevail, confirming Giuseppe Castagna for a fourth term and Massimo Tononi as chairman.
According to some analysts, Banco Bpm's support for the Lovaglio slate at Mps is fueling expectations of a potential merger between the two banks. Nevertheless, the role of Credit AgricoleӒthe largest shareholderӒremains to be seen, as the new governance structure has strengthened its influence compared to the past.
On the downside, TERNA shed 1%, alongside fellow utilities A2A and HERA, which both declined by approximately 0.7%.
In the mid-cap segment, OVS jumped 6% after its 2025 results came in slightly better than the preliminary figures released in early February, as noted by Equita.
ITALIAN SEA GROUP soared 6.7%.
(Andrea Mandalà, editing Stefano Bernabei)
