European stocks slip over #MontedeiPaschidiSiena bank bailout in #Italy

European stocks slipped Thursday (22 December), as Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA's eleventh-hour bid to raise capital looked set to fail, dragging bank shares lower, writes Carla Mozee.

The benchmark on Wednesday fell 0.2%, as banking shares throughout the region came under pressure.

BMPS heads for bailout?

In Milan, on the FTSE MIB index , shares of Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena (BMPS.MI) rose 3.2%, in a turnaround to early action. The shares initially fell 6.8%, after a sluggish start to trading. BMPS, the world's oldest lender, has been trying to raise 5 billion euros in new private capital as it struggles under a bad loan burden. Those efforts look to have failed, after the bank said it had lost a key investor - thought to be Qatari - leaving BMPS waiting to hear whether the Italian government will bail it out.

But other Italian bank stocks rose. Banca Popolare di Milano (PMI.MI) gained 1.7%, Banco Popolare (BP.MI) tacked on 1.6%, UniCredit SpA (UCG.MI) gained 1.3%, and Unione di Banche Italiane SpA (UBI.MI) was higher by 0.9%. Overall, the FTSE Italia All-Share Bank Index was up 0.4% on Thursday.

Across the region, though, bank stocks sagged, pulling down the Stoxx Europe 600 Bank Index 0.1% lower. German lender Deutsche Bank AG (DBK.XE) (DBK.XE) and its U.K. peer Barclays PLC (BCS) (BCS) each slipped 0.2%

Other movers: Actelion Ltd. shares (ATLN.EB) bounced up 6.1% as the Swiss drug maker re-entered acquisition talks with Johnson & Johnson (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/johnson-johnson-re-enters-negotiations-to-buy-actelion-2016-12-21).

The euro was buying $1.0445 compared with $1.0431 late Wednesday in New York.

Indexes: Italy's FTSE MIB index rose 0.3% to 19,269.05, and Germany's DAX 30 index shed 0.1% to 11,454.43.

France's CAC 40 index was flat at 4,833.62, while the UK's FTSE 100 index dipped 0.1% at 7,032.74. Spain's IBEX 35 slipped 0.1%.

Share this article: