European stock markets opened cautiously and shifted to negative territory as trading progressed, with the Milan stock exchange (FTSE MIB) falling 1% to 33,417 points, driven by selling pressure on banks.
The Stoxx 600 index remained flat, reflecting weakness in industrials and energy sectors. Notable declines included Popolare di Sondrio (-2.87%), MPS (-2.5%), Banco BPM (-2.24%), Unicredit (-2.16%), and BPER (-1.94%).
In other markets, Frankfurt dropped by 0.32%, Paris by 0.18%, and Madrid by 0.3%, while London saw a slight increase of 0.18%.
The spread between Italian BTPs and German Bunds widened to 122 points, while the yield on the Italian 10-year bond fell nearly 5 basis points to around 3.52%.
In commodities, oil prices declined, with WTI at $68.6 per barrel (-0.68%) and Brent below $73 (-0.6%). Natural gas also weakened slightly (-0.1%) near €47 per megawatt-hour.
The euro remained weak against the dollar, trading at 1.057.