Corrects name in The Italian Sea Group entry to Giovanna Vitelli

The following factors could affect Italian markets on Wednesday

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

ECONOMY

Italy plans to use the European Union's so-called "escape clause" from the bloc's budget rules to fund measures aimed at softening energy costs in 2027 and 2028, a statement from Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's office said on Tuesday.

COMPANIES

UNICREDIT CRDI.MI

Moody's has placed the bank's stand-alone rating on review for a possible upgrade to 'baa1' from 'baa2' following its bid for Commerzbank, the rating agency said on Tuesday.

(*) MONTE DEI PASCHI DI SIENA (MPS) BMPS.MI, GENERALI GASI.MI, INTESA SANPAOLO ISP.MI

MPS aims to reach an agreement on merger terms with Banco BPM within a couple of weeks, Corriere della Sera reported on Wednesday. The report added that MPS would have to unlock the value of its stake in insurer Generali in order to achieve a level of shareholder remuneration at least comparable to that offered by Intesa Sanpaolo. If MPS were to sell all or part of its holding in Generali, it could distribute an additional dividend of around €7 billion to shareholders, Barclays estimates cited by Corriere showed.

To win over France's Credit Agricole CAGR.PA, Banco BPM's largest shareholder, the two Italian banks would need to offer an exchange ratio competitive with that proposed by Intesa Sanpaolo, as well as an industrial agreement providing for new partnerships, synergies and potential branch disposals, MF reported on Wednesday.

LEONARDO LDOF.MI

It is unlikely that France would join the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), the fighter jet project being developed by Italy, Britain and Japan, Leonardo's CEO Lorenzo Mariani said on Tuesday at the Farnborough air show, adding that Germany could complement the programme.

Canada will join the programme as the first "observer nation", giving it privileged access to the project and paving the way for future participation, the partners said on Tuesday.

The aerospace company said on Tuesday it had signed a contract to supply 12 M-346 F Block 20 aircraft to Indonesia.

(*) SAIPEM SPMI.MI, ENI ENI.MI

The energy contractor said on Wednesday it was awarded a new offshore drilling contract by Eni Côte d’Ivoire Limited, valued at approximately $260 million. Operations are scheduled to begin in early 2027.

TELECOM ITALIA (TIM) TLIT.MI

A Milan court has rejected a request for precautionary measures filed by the Italian phone group against KKR-backed KKR.N FiberCop over new tariffs for access to Italy's main fixed-line telecoms network, grid owner FiberCop said.

(*) THE ITALIAN SEA GROUP TISGR.MI

Yacht maker Azimut Benetti is ready to acquire the shipyards of the rival group, Chair Giovanna Vitelli told la Repubblica on Wednesday.

The Italian Sea Group has scheduled a board meeting on July 31 to approve 2025 financial statements and has called a shareholders' meeting on September 11 to renew the board. A board meeting to review results for the first half of is now scheduled for September 30, a statement said on Tuesday.

(*) IPO, CARRARO

The Padua-based group specialising in axles and transmissions for agricultural and earth-moving machinery has started procedures to list its subsidiary Carraro China in Hong Kong, after already listing Carraro India on the Mumbai stock exchange, Chairman Enrico Carraro told daily Corriere della Sera on Wednesday.

MONCLER MONC.MI

The luxury group publishes its first-half results.

BRAGA MORO BRM.MI

The company's delisting is effective as of Wednesday.

DIARY

Rome, Defence Minister Guido Crosetto and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speak before Foreign Affairs and Defence Committees of Parliament on the outcome of the NATO summit held on July 7-8. (0630 GMT)

Rome, Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti attends Question Time in the Chamber of Deputies (1300 GMT)

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/