Italian stocks ended Monday's trading session higher, with the main index finishing up by 0.19% at the close in Milan. Buying activity was most pronounced in the Travel & Leisure, Telecoms and Utilities sectors, which provided upward momentum for the market.
Among individual names, Lottomatica Group SpA (BIT:LTMC) was the session's strongest performer, rising 2.51% - a gain of 0.52 points - to finish at 21.24. Banking names also posted gains: Banco Bpm SpA (BIT:BAMI) increased 1.61% or 0.20 points to close at 12.60, while Intesa Sanpaolo SpA (BIT:ISP) was up 1.33% or 0.08 points to 5.87 in late trade.
Not all large caps followed the rally. DiaSorin SpA (BIT:DIAS) led losses, dropping 3.28% or 2.40 points to end at 70.88. Leonardo SpA (BIT:LDOF) declined 2.65% or 1.54 points to 56.52, and STMicroelectronics (BIT:STMMI) slipped 2.58% or 0.63 points to 24.00.
Market breadth on the Milan Stock Exchange was tilted toward falling stocks, with 428 issues retreating versus 281 advancing; 48 stocks finished unchanged.
Commodities showed mixed signals during the session. Crude oil for March delivery lost 0.51% or $0.31, settling at $60.76 a barrel. Brent crude for April delivery fell 0.35% or $0.23 to $64.84 a barrel. By contrast, the April Gold Futures contract posted a sizeable gain, rising 2.25% or $112.66 to trade at $5,129.66 a troy ounce.
In currency markets, the euro strengthened against the dollar, with EUR/USD up 0.51% to 1.19. EUR/GBP was unchanged 0.13% to 0.87. The US Dollar Index Futures declined 0.65% to 96.77.
Session takeaway - The close in Milan saw a modest rise for the Italy 40, supported by select sector gains while a number of notable large-cap names ended the day in negative territory. Commodity and currency moves were mixed, with oil easing and gold advancing amid a weaker dollar index.