Milan falls 0.66%, carried away by banks and its exposure to Russia

Rome, March 17th Milan closed lower on Thursday and its selective FTSE MIB index left 0.66%, reaching 24,123.58 points, dragged by banks and its exposure to Russia, a country that avoided the first threat of default but one that investors are watching closely. The overall FTSE Italia All-Share Index fell 0.56% to 26,386.93 points. During the session, 998 million shares worth 3,311 million euros (about $3,682.94 million) changed hands. Investors chose this Thursday to get rid of their bank securities, while the sector is among the most exposed in Europe to financial risks in Moscow. Banco BPM (4.90%), UniCredit (4.48%), Finecobank (4.21%), Intesa Sanpaolo (3.54%) and BPER Banca (2.97%) decreased. The best value of the Milan national team is DiaSorin, which gained 7.75%, followed by the oil companies Saipem ($4.1%) and ENI (2.66%) and the producer of steel pipes for the oil industry Tenaris (3.67%), due to the rebound of crude oil. Among the top five values was also the Iveco vehicle manufacturing group, which grew 3.44 percent. CHIEF LSC/PSH