Italy - Factors to watch on September 24

The following factors could affect Italian markets on Thursday.

Reuters has not verified the newspaper reports, and cannot vouch for their accuracy. New items are marked with (*).

ECONOMY

Italy plans to confirm a commitment to bring its budget deficit below the European Union's ceiling of 3% of gross domestic product this year from 3.1% in 2025, sources said, as the government finalises a new budget plan due in early October.

Italy's upper house Senate on Wednesday gave final approval to a government plan to restart nuclear power generation, almost 40 years after a referendum led to the closure of Italy's reactors.

Consensus is growing across Europe over the need to adopt a windfall tax on energy firms, Italy's Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said on Wednesday.

DEBT

Treasury sells on Thursday up to €4.5 billion of BTP short and inflation-linked BTPei.

COMPANIES

(*) STELLANTIS STLAM.MI

New car sales across the European Union, Britain and the European Free Trade Association rose in August by 5.3% year-on-year, data from the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) showed on Thursday. Stellantis underperformed the market, with group sales rising by 3.5%.

BANCA MONTE DEI PASCHI BMPS.MI, INTESA SANPAOLO ISP.MI

Italy will abstain from a vote at a Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) shareholder meeting called to approve defensive acquisitions to fend off a hostile takeover by Intesa Sanpaolo, Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said on Wednesday.

MPS's Ceo Luigi Lovaglio urged investors in the Italian bank to back his defence strategy against a takeover bid by Intesa Sanpaolo even if they intend to tender their shares under the offer.

Addressing a Bank of America investor conference in London, Lovaglio said an October 29 vote on the defence plan should not be seen as a choice between Intesa's bid and the alternative deal MPS is proposing.

(*) Delfin, the top shareholder in the Tuscan bank, will make its decision on CEO Luigi Lovaglio's proposed bids for Banco BPM BAMI.MI and Banca Generali BGN.MI at a board meeting scheduled shortly before MPS's October 29 shareholder meeting, daily la Repubblica reported on Thursday.

The newspaper said Delfin had appointed Lazard as adviser, while CEO Romolo Bardin had started informal consultations with the holding company's eight shareholders to assess their position.

(*) BANCO BPM BAMI.MI, UNICREDIT CRDI.MI

UniCredit is set to make a move on Banco BPM with the encouragement of the Italian economy ministry, to prevent Banco from ending up entirely in the hands of Credit Agricole CAGR.PA, Il Foglio daily wrote on Thursday, citing financial sources with knowledge of the dossier. According to the same sources, UniCredit may take action imminently. UniCredit’s plan could involve also Credit Agricole, it added.

FINCANTIERI FCT.MI

Italian shipbuilder's subsidiary Vard has secured a new order from Dong Fang Offshore (DFO) 7786.TW for the design and construction of a Commissioning Service Operation Vessel (CSOV).

For Italian market data and news, click on codes in

brackets:

20 biggest gainers (in percentage).............PG.MI

20 biggest losers (in percentage)..............PL.MI

FTSE IT allshare index .FTITLMS

FTSE Mib index........ .FTMIB

FTSE Allstars index... .FTSTAR

FTSE Mid Cap index.... .FTITMC

Stories on Italy...... IT-LEN

For pan-European market data and news, click on codes in

brackets:

European Equities speed guide...................EUR/EQUITY

FTSEurofirst 300 index...............................FTEU3

DJ STOXX index.......................................STOXX

Top 10 STOXX sectors............................PGL.STOXXS

Top 10 EUROSTOXX sectors.......................PGL.STOXXES

Top 10 Eurofirst 300 sectors....................PGL.FTEU3S

Top 25 European pct gainers........................PG.PEUR

Top 25 European pct losers.........................PL.PEUR

Main stock markets:

Dow Jones................DJI Wall Street report ......N

Nikkei 225..............N225 Tokyo report.............T

FTSE 100................FTSE London report............L

Xetra DAX..............GDAXI Frankfurt market stories.F

CAC-40..................FCHI Paris market stories....PA

World Indices.....................................0#.INDEX

Reuters survey of world bourse outlook.........EQUITYPOLL1

Western European IPO diary..........................WEUIPO

European Asset Allocation........................EUR/ASSET

Reuters News at a Glance: Equities...............TOP/EQE

Main currency report:...............................FRX/