(Alliance News) - On Monday, the FTSE MIB regained ground during the session, reversing the weakness recorded in the early hours of trading to move back above the 50,200-point threshold.

The banking sector remained the primary focus, with investor attention concentrated on potential developments in the industry's consolidation process. Banca Monte dei Paschi was at the center of a 'contest' as Rocca Salimbeni received overtures from both Banco BPM and Intesa Sanpaolo.

Regarding monetary policy, market participants maintain expectations for a continued restrictive stance from the European Central Bank. Indeed, the market continues to price in the possibility of further interest rate interventions, assigning a near-certain probability to an initial decision as early as this week's meeting.

Consequently, the FTSE MIB closed up 0.6% at 50,208.13 points, the Mid-Cap gained 0.4% to 61,813.97 points, the Small-Cap advanced 1.2% to 35,674.16 points, while Italy Growth closed slightly below par at 9,164.93 points.

London's FTSE 100 closed with fractional gains, Paris's CAC 40 shed 0.2%, while Frankfurt's DAX 40 retreated 0.5%.

Returning to Piazza Affari, as anticipated, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena shares were the top performers on the MIB, recording a 13% rise with trading volumes exceeding 156 million shares. The Sienese bank - now priced at EUR10.10 per share - continues to be the protagonist of the Italian banking 'risiko'.

Banco BPM, up 0.8%, has indeed submitted a merger-of-equals proposal to MPS that would create the country's second-largest banking group. According to estimates, the transaction could generate over EUR1.1 billion in synergies, a market capitalization exceeding EUR50 billion, a CET1 ratio of 15%, and a steady-state net profit of approximately EUR6 billion, with value creation estimated at at least EUR5.5 billion.

In contrast, Intesa Sanpaolo closed the session down 1.4%, ranking among the worst performers on the main list. The bank has launched an exchange offer (OPAS) for MPS, offering shareholders 16 Intesa shares for every 10 shares tendered, plus EUR1.00 in cash per share, with premiums reaching up to 18.7%.

The deal also includes the sale of 635 MPS branches to Unipol, whose shares rose 3.1%, and aims to achieve over EUR16 billion in net profit by 2029, driven by annual synergies estimated at EUR2.9 billion.

Buying interest was seen in FinecoBank - up 0.9% - which announced on Monday that net inflows for May reached EUR1.54 billion, a 17% increase compared to EUR1.31 billion in the same month of 2025. This brings the total for the first five months of the year to EUR7.49 billion from EUR5.78 billion, representing 30% year-on-year growth.

Avio shed 1.8% after two sessions closed with bullish candles. Notably, Two Sigma Investments increased its short position on the stock to 0.68% from the previous 0.55%.

On the Mid-Cap, Revo Insurance showed strength, finishing 5.8% higher in its fourth consecutive session ending with a bullish candle.

Safilo Group also performed well, advancing 6.4%. The group announced on Monday that its subsidiary Safilo has mandated Kepler Cheuvreux to launch a share buyback program for up to 10 million ordinary shares, approximately 2.5% of the share capital, for a maximum total value of EUR20 million.

Caltagirone closed up 4.0%, rebounding after five consecutive sessions of declines and bringing the price to the EUR8.91 per share area.

Carel Industries shed 2.6%, following a 4.3% loss in the previous session.

Ascopiave ended its run by dropping 3.6% after Friday evening's 0.8% gain. The stock saw above-average volumes, with nearly 555,000 shares changing hands compared to a three-month daily average of 480,000. The company announced on Monday that the board of directors has appointed director Stefano Faè as Managing Director and CEO, granting him the relevant powers.

The board also conferred powers upon Chairman Giovanni Zoppas in his capacity as non-independent Executive Chairman.

On the Small-Cap, a strong bullish candle for Trevi Finanziaria Industriale, which rose 9.5% after the more modest 0.5% gain recorded in the last session. On Friday, the company announced that Consob has approved Trevifin's prospectus for a rights issue of up to EUR100 million.

Aedes advanced 5.7% to EUR0.85 per share, breaking a mini-trend of three consecutive bearish sessions.

Caltagirone Editore climbed 4.6% to EUR2.27 per share. Notably, the stock hit a new 52-week high of EUR2.40 during trading.

Aeffe - among the laggards - shed 3.8% to EUR0.14 per share, hitting a 52-week low of EUR0.13 during the session.

Among SMEs, Compagnia dei Caraibi showed strength, closing up 7.0%. The company's board on Monday approved the consolidated financial statements, closing the fiscal year with a net loss of EUR4.6 million, compared to a negative result of EUR2.1 million in the previous year.

On the balance sheet front, the net financial position was negative at EUR9.8 million, but improved compared to EUR11.0 million as of December 31, 2024.

Energy Time surged over 10% to EUR6.80 per share, marking a new 52-week high at this price.

Fope rose 6.8% to EUR50.00, also reaching a new 52-week high.

Selling pressure hit H-Farm - down 1.9% - which on Friday defined the terms and schedule for the rights issue approved by the board on May 29, for a maximum amount of EUR7.9 million.

Dedem shed 5.3% after Friday evening's 2.0% gain, with the price hovering around EUR3.96 per share.

In New York, the Dow is advancing 0.2%, the Nasdaq is up 1.4%, while the S&P 500 is trading 0.8% higher.

On the currency front, the euro is trading at USD1.1544 from USD1.1534 on Friday evening, while the pound is trading at USD1.3342 from USD1.3358 on Friday evening.

Among commodities, Brent is trading at USD94.65 per barrel from USD93.43 per barrel on Friday evening, while gold is valued at USD4,331.55 per ounce from USD4,340.09 per ounce at Friday's close.

Tuesday's macroeconomic calendar includes China's trade balance data at 0500 CEST. At 0800 CEST, attention turns to Germany's trade balance and industrial production data.

From the US, at 1415 CEST, the ADP weekly employment change report will be released, followed at 1430 CEST by trade balance data.

At 2230 CEST, also from the US, weekly oil inventory data will be available.

On the Piazza Affari corporate calendar, results from Homizy are expected.

By Maurizio Carta, Alliance News reporter

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