FTSE MIB rises toward 52,700 as European stocks extend gains

The FTSE MIB rose to around 52,700 on Friday, recouping some of the previous session’s losses and mirroring gains across broader European equities, as investors adopted a more positive stance ahead of Fed Chair Kevin Warsh’s Jackson Hole speech.

Heavyweight financials led the gains amid ongoing bank merger talks.

Unipol Chairman Carlo Cimbri said MPS’s headquarters would remain in Siena if Intesa Sanpaolo’s takeover succeeds, while ruling out forced layoffs from a potential MPS-BPER combination.

UniCredit, Intesa Sanpaolo, Mediobanca, Unipol and MPS gained around 1%-2%.

Gains were also broad-based outside financials, with notable advances in Tenaris (+1.7%), Moncler (+1.7%), STMicroelectronics (+1.2%) and Prysmian (+1.1%).

Eni also rebounded by more than 1% after recent declines linked to concerns over a potential Italian windfall tax on energy companies.

For the week, the index is heading for a modest performance but remains on track for a gain of more than 2% for the month.