A cautious session at Piazza Affari, with investors' attention fully focused on the Bank of England's rate decision at 13:00 and the European Central Bank's announcement at 14:15, to be followed by a press conference from President Christine Lagarde.

On the US macro front, weekly jobless claims data are expected at 14:30. Yesterday, US President Donald Trump signed a spending bill, ending the partial government shutdown that had delayed the release of key labor market data. However, there is still no set date for the publication of the 'nonfarm payrolls', originally scheduled for tomorrow.

US equity index futures are showing little movement.

Around 12:20, the FTSE MIB is down 0.20%. Trading volumes stand at €1.2 billion.

Stocks in focus today

** The banking sector is retracing, with major players UNICREDIT and INTESA down 0.7% and 1% respectively. Spotlight today is on BPER, which is up 2.6% after closing the 2025 fiscal year with consolidated net profit of €2.1 billion and core revenues of €6.2 billion. According to Equita, results exceeded expectations across all business lines.

** POP SONDRIO is also performing well, rising 1.6% and renewing all-time highs. MEDIOBANCA is flat after yesterday's surge on speculation about a possible delisting from Piazza Affari, while parent company MPS is up 0.3%.

** In the oil sector, SAIPEM and ENI have returned to parity after starting the session lower, following a drop in crude prices.

** Construction stocks are recovering after yesterday's sell-off, with CEMENTIR up 2.6%, WEBUILD up 2.6%, and BUZZI gaining 0.8%.

** Cyclical stocks are sharply down, including STELLANTIS, which falls 2.6%, and PIRELLI, down 0.7%. FERRARI drops 1%, penalized by Barclays' target price cut to €365 from €420.

** OVS is in demand, rising about 1% after preliminary 2025 results came in slightly above expectations for EBITDA and well above forecasts for free cash flow, as highlighted by Equita's daily report. The stock is at its highest level since March 2018.

(Giancarlo Navach, editing Sabina Suzzi, Francesca Piscioneri)