The FTSE MIB rose 0.6% to around 42,670 in early trading on Tuesday, advancing for the third straight session and outperforming most of its European peers.
The index was lifted by banking stocks, led by BPER Banca, which jumped more than 6% after signing derivative contracts with a major counterparty to gain synthetic exposure to 9.99% of its own shares.
The move aims to signal confidence in its growth outlook ahead of the planned integration of Popolare di Sondrio and to provide flexibility for a potential future share buyback.
Among peers, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena rose 2.1%, while Intesa Sanpaolo and Mediobanca each added nearly 1%.
Other notable gainers included Unipol Gruppo, up 2.9%, while STMicroelectronics extended its rally with a 1.1% rise, and Telecom Italia added just over 1%.
