Italian Stocks Rebound After Debt Sales; Fastweb, Impregilo, Paschi Gain
Italy’s benchmark FTSE MIB Index rose 184.81, or 0.9 percent, to 20,580.26 at the 5:30 p.m. close in Milan.
The following stocks were among the most active in the Italian market today.
Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA (BMPS IM), Italy’s third-largest bank, rose 2.2 percent to 1 euro, ending a two-day loss as improved demand for government bonds from Portugal to Poland helped ease concern about sovereign debt.
Global regulators reached a compromise on capital ratios for banks that will introduce higher capital requirements over a five- to 10-year period starting in 2013.
Intesa Sanpaolo SpA (ISP IM) and UniCredit SpA (UCG IM), Italy’s biggest banks, gained 1 percent to 2.38 euros and 1.3 percent to 1.94 euros, respectively.
Buzzi Unicem SpA (BZU IM) retreated for a third day, losing 0.6 percent to 7.32 euros. Nomura Holdings Inc. cut its rating on Italy’s second-biggest cement maker to “reduce” from “buy.” The brokerage said in a note that Italcementi SpA (IT IM), Italy’s biggest cement maker, “now offers a better valuation risk reward versus its Italian peer given its lower exposure to the U.S.” Italcementi was upgraded to “neutral” from “reduce.” Italcementi shares gained 2.2 percent to 6.18 euros, their second increase this week.
Eurotech SpA (ETH IM) increased 3.5 percent to 2.09 euros, the highest in more than a month, after it announced an agreement with Wind River Systems Inc, a unit of Intel Corp. Eurotech and Wind River will collaborate to “speed embedded application development,” the Italian company said in a statement distributed by the Italian exchange today.
Fastweb SpA (FWB IM) soared 34 percent to 17.93 euros, the biggest increase since March 2000. Swisscom AG said its Swisscom Italia unit will bid for the 18 percent of Fastweb that it doesn’t already own at 18 euros a share. Exane BNP Paribas upgraded Fastweb to “neutral” from “underperform.”
Tiscali SpA (TIS IM) advanced 5.3 percent to 10.91 euro cents, the stock’s highest price in almost a month.
Gruppo Coin SpA (GCN IM) advanced 1.9 percent to 6.61 euros, a second increase this week. UniCredit Research lifted its price estimate on Italy’s largest clothing distributor to 8 euros from 7.7 euros and kept a “buy” rating.
Impregilo SpA (IPG IM) climbed 2.6 percent to 2.18 euros. Intermonte Sim SpA reiterated an “outperform” recommendation as Italy’s biggest builder seeks to take advantage of the proposed infrastructure plan in the U.S.
Indesit Company SpA (IND IM) surged 5.9 percent to 8.32 euros, the first gain this week. Fidentiis Equities SV SA reiterated a “buy” recommendation on Italy’s biggest home- appliance maker as it expects today’s meeting with the government, local authorities and unions to “bring some progress in negotiations” about plant closures.
Parmalat SpA (PLT IM), Italy’s biggest dairy food company, gained 2.1 percent to 1.95 euros, erasing yesterday’s decline. Natixis Securities lifted its rating on food & beverage stocks to “outperform” from “market perform.”
STMicroelectronics NV (STM IM) fell 1.4 percent to 5.49 euros, extending its 1.5 percent loss yesterday. UBS AG downgraded the European semiconductor industry to “underweight” from “neutral.” The brokerage lowered its price estimate on Europe’s largest semiconductor maker to 5.65 euros from 6.45 euros.
Tenaris SA (TEN IM), the world’s largest maker of seamless pipes, increased 1.7 percent to 14.21 euros. Crude oil rose for the first time in three days as equities gained and the dollar retreated against the euro, boosting the appeal of commodities as an alternative investment.
To contact the reporter on this story: Francesca Cinelli in Milan at fcinelli@bloomberg.net.
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