Italy: FTSE MIB Trades Higher.

The FTSE MIB rose to around 52,100 on Friday, after edging lower in the previous session, as oil prices eased, offering some relief to markets. Still, tensions in the Middle East remained elevated, keeping inflation risks and expectations for tighter monetary policy in focus. Banking stocks outperformed, with UniCredit up 0.7% and Intesa Sanpaolo 1.5%, as investors continued to assess the sector’s consolidation wave. UniCredit’s board approved a capital increase to support its planned takeover of Commerzbank, while Intesa’s proposed acquisition of MPS faces an upcoming antitrust review. Other financials rising included Unipol (+1.4%), Banca Mediolanum (+1.3%) and FinecoBank (+1.0%). Prysmian also added 0.8% after raising €850 million through a capital increase to partially fund its planned acquisition of US-based Atkore. For the week, the benchmark index is poised for a muted performance.