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 (*).

For a complete list of diary events in Italy please click on IT/DIA.

POLITICS

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet Pope Leo at the Vatican on Thursday, in a potentially fraught encounter as President Donald Trump has continued a series of disparaging attacks on the Catholic leader over the Iran war.

Rubio, who also serves as Trump's national security adviser, was due to arrive at the Vatican's Apostolic Palace around 11:15 a.m. (0915 GMT) for the visit, the first between the pope and a Trump cabinet official in nearly a year.

ECONOMY

OECD releases April composite leading indicator data (1000 GMT).

DEBT

Treasury announces sale of 12-month BOT bills, with relative amounts to be auctioned on May 12.

COMPANIES

(*) UNICREDIT CRDI.MI

The bank said on Thursday that it had reached a non-binding accord to sell parts of its Russian subsidiary to a "well established private investor" in the United Arab Emirates.

A senior Commerzbank CBKG.DE official on Thursday rejected calls by UniCredit CEO Andrea Orcel to resume merger talks, as a battle for ownership of the top German bank intensifies.

BANCA MONTE DEI PASCHI DI SIENA BMPS.MI

(*) The Tuscan lender said on Thursday that Fabrizio Palermo on Wednesday resigned as independent director with immediate effect, citing disagreements with recent corporate governance decisions.

BPER BANCA EMII.MI

(*) The lender on Thursday posted a first-quarter net profit which exceeded market expectations, supported by higher net interest income and fees, as the bank reaped the benefits of its merger with Banca Popolare di Sondrio.

Conference call on Q1 results at 0800 GMT.

POSTE ITALIANE PST.MI

(*) The financial conglomerate raised its outlook for the year on Thursday after reporting better-than-expected first-quarter earnings.

Conference call will follow.

FINECOBANK FBK.MI

(*) The digital bank reported on Thursday a 1.2% fall in first-quarter net profit to 162.2 million euros ($190.6 million), partly reflecting a higher impact from one of Italy's main corporate levies.

A conference call on results will follow.

ENI ENI.MI

The state-controlled energy group's shareholders on Wednesday approved the appointment of board members put forward by the government, paving the way for CEO Claudio Descalzi to serve a record fifth term at Eni.

(*) The company said on Thursday its Geliga-1 gas discovery offshore Indonesia delivered strong test results, confirming high reservoir productivity and supporting potential fast-track development.

ENEL ENEI.MI

Spanish power utility Endesa ELE.MC, owned by the Italian energy giant, on Wednesday confirmed its full-year profit guidance after posting a 24% rise in first-quarter net profit that beat market expectations.

Enel releases Q1 results, followed by conference call.

(*)EDISON EDNn.MI

The utility tweaked down its full-year guidance and said its first-quarter operating profit halved compared to the previous year mainly due to the impact of the force majeure declared by its liquefied natural gas supplier QatarEnergy.

TENARIS TENR.MI

(*) The steel pipe maker warned late on Wednesday that it expects second-quarter sales to be impacted by lower shipments in the Middle East due to the conflict in the region. Separately, the company also said it has appointed Gabriel Podskubka as CEO, replacing Paolo Rocca, who will serve as chairman of the board.

Conference call on Q1 results.

NEXI NEXII.MI

(*) The payments firm said on Thursday said it expects its earnings before interest, taxes, debts and amortisation (EBITDA) to remain "broadly stable" after strategic investments and confirmed its 2026 guidance. EBITDA in the first quarter of the year was up 2.6% year-on-year to 396.5 million euros and the EBITDA margin was at 48.3%. Conference call on Q1 results.

IVECO GROUP NV IVG.MI

(*) The truckmaker, set to be acquired by India's Tata Motors TATM.NS, said on Thursday its adjusted net result swung to a lossof 74 million euros ($87 million) in the first quarter, from a profit of 60 million euros a year ago.

TELECOM ITALIA (TIM) TLIT.MI

Pay-TV operator Sky is seeking up to 1.9 billion euros ($2.2 billion) in damages from Telecom Italia (TIM) and sports streaming platform DAZN, TIM said on Wednesday, confirming an earlier Reuters report.

Telecom Italia (TIM) posted a steeper than expected 2.7% drop in its core profit on Wednesday, partly due to issues related to the transition of some contracts with its virtual network operators. Conference call on Q1 results.

Telecom Italia said a full exit from its towers deal with Inwit INWT.MI could be achieved in around 10 years, slides released on Wednesday showed.

LEONARDO LDOF.MI

The Italian aerospace and defence group left its 2026 guidance unchanged on Wednesday, despite a 33% rise in first-quarter core earnings, as the outgoing CEO said any revision should be decided by the incoming management.

Annual general meeting at 0830 GMT.

CAMPARI CPRI.MI

The spirits group said on Wednesday its organic revenues were up 2.9% in the first quarter, missing forecasts, and reported similar growth rates in its main markets of North America and Europe.

(*) Inflation stemming from the Middle East crisis is expected to limit demand for spirits, but Campari's pricing should mean consumers still consider its brands good value, the group's CEO told Reuters.

MEDIA FOR EUROPE (MFE) MFEB.MI

Italian Justice Minister Carlo Nordio said on Wednesday he would sue MFE's Italian unit Mediaset and one of its journalists for defamation.

M&A/ANGELINI

Angelini Pharma said on Thursday it has agreed to acquire Catalyst Pharmaceuticals CPRX.O for $4.1 billion.

AZIMUT HOLDING AZMT.MI

Releases Q1 results.

BANCA MEDIOLANUM BMED.MI

Releases Q1 results.

PIRELLI PIRC.MI

Releases Q1 results, followed by conference call.

TERNA TRN.MI

Releases Q1 results.

BREMBO BRBI.MI

Releases Q1 results, followed by conference call (1230 GMT).

DIARY

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni meets Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar (0800 GMT); Libyan Prime Minister Hamid Mohammed Dbeibeh (1000 GMT); Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (1330 GMT).

((Milan newsroom, e-mail: reutersitaly@thomsonreuters.com))

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

Block trades.......... .BLK.MI

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/