Piazza Affari opened with more momentum than its European peers, bolstered by banking and defense stocks despite weakness in the energy sector.

Risk-on sentiment persists across markets ahead of the expected signing of the U.S.-Iran agreement on Friday. Investors are waiting for specific details of the deal, particularly its impact on the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, which affects oil prices and inflation expectations.

Meanwhile, crude oil futures continue to slide, with Brent falling toward $82 per barrel.

Around 10:00, the FTSE Mib is up 0.9%, while the banking sector index has climbed 1.9%.

UNICREDIT stands out with a gain of approximately 3% on the final day of the acceptance period for its exchange offer for Commerzbank. INTESA SANPAOLO is up 1.4% and BANCO BPM has risen 1.2%, with the latter holding a board meeting today where potential countermeasures to the takeover bid launched by Intesa for MPS (+1.2%) may be discussed.

Defense stocks are showing strength, including LEONARDO (+1.4%) and FINCANTIERI (+1.5%).

In the Oil & Gas sector, SAIPEM is down 1.2%. In the technology sector, STM is at the bottom of the FTSE Mib index with a 2.7% decline after announcing this morning the launch of a $1.5bn convertible bond split into two tranches, alongside the early redemption of its 2027 convertible bond. According to Equita, the new convertible offer has a very limited dilutive impact on earnings per share, estimated at approximately 1% compared to current EPS in the most unfavorable scenario.

(Andrea Mandalà, editing Antonella Cinelli)