Piazza Affari lacked clear direction at the start of the week, with selling pressure prevailing following the stalemate in U.S.-Iran negotiations, leaving investors uncertain about their next moves.

Oil futures climbed back above $100 per barrel as the United States announced a blockade of Iranian ports. The measure is intended to ramp up pressure on Tehran and the primary recipients of Iranian crude, most notably China.

Wall Street index futures are also trading in the red, pointing to a negative open for U.S. equity markets.

By 1:00 p.m. CET, the FTSE Mib index was down 0.75%, with trading volumes hovering around 1.1 billion euros.

Market Highlights

** The banking sector is under significant pressure, with the sectoral index retreating 1.3%. UNICREDIT is down 1.6%, followed by INTESA at -1%. MPS and MEDIOBANCA both posted losses exceeding 1.5%.

** Cyclical stocks, which remain highly sensitive to signs of an economic slowdown, are pulling back. STELLANTIS is down 2.8%, while BRUNELLO CUCINELLI has shed 4%. The latter, however, is seeing some profit-taking today after surging more than 5% on Friday following its quarterly results.

** Heavy selling hit WEBUILD, which dropped 6% after Friday's rally. The stock, along with other cement and construction players, had previously gained on expectations of post-war reconstruction efforts.

** DIASORIN is down 1.9%, weighed down by RBC, which slashed its price target to 75 euros from 95 euros.

** LEONARDO is showing signs of life, rebounding 1.3% after Friday's sharp decline, which mirrored a broader sell-off in European defense stocks.

** The renewed uptick in crude prices, within a market that remains highly volatile for oil and gas, is supporting the energy sector. ENI is up 0.5% and SAIPEM has gained 0.4%. Analysts at Equita remain positive on Eni, noting in their daily report that the company "benefits directly from rising hydrocarbon prices, leading to positive short-term estimate revisions."

** D'AMICO is also performing well, up 1%. Equita highlights that the company is benefiting from a reallocation of flows within the oil tanker freight market.

** POSTE ITALIANE and TIM are both attracting buyers, rising around 1%. Poste CEO Matteo Del Fante emphasized in the Financial Times this morning that the current offer is appropriate, allowing participating investors to benefit from generated synergies and the group's dividend policy.

** Finally, DE LONGHI is in demand, rising 1.65% following the announcement of a 60 million euro share buyback program, representing 1.2% of its share capital.

(Giancarlo Navach, editing Andrea Mandalà)