Italy - Factors to watch on May 19

The following factors could affect Italian markets on Monday.

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. Vice President JD Vance alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio attended the inaugural Mass of Pope Leo on Sunday in Rome. Vance met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Sunday. In a separate meeting, he met EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and said he hoped their encounter would help move forward trade talks between the EU and the United States.

The Ukrainian leader had a private meeting with Leo while the U.S. Vice President is expected to see the pope on Monday.

(*) British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Sunday discussed Russia's war against Ukraine with leaders of the U.S., Italy, France and Germany, a Downing Street spokesperson said.

(*) Boosting defence spending is a task for all NATO members willing to close gaps with allies, ministers from historic low-spenders Italy and Germany said on Friday, following a round of talks with European counterparts.

COMPANIES

UNICREDIT CRDI.MI

Germany does not expect the Italian bank to launch a full bid for German rival Commerzbank CBKG.DE at present, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Saturday.

The Italian bank declined to comment on reports in La Repubblica and Corriere della Sera at the weekend reiterating the lender has asked market regulator Consob to suspend the tender offer for Banco BPM to give UniCredit time to assess the implications of Italy's 'golden power' conditions.

TELECOM ITALIA TLIT.MI

Italy's biggest phone group said on Sunday amendments to the bylaws, including the broadening of corporate purpose, will be submitted for consideration by the Board of Directors at its May 23 meeting.

Last week Reuters reported that TIM was considering adding insurance, digital payments and energy to its business as described in its bylaws ahead of expanding the offering of those services.

(*) MEDIOBANCA MDBI.MI

Morgan Stanley on Monday cut the rating on the Italian bank to 'equal weight' from 'overweight' and the target price to 22 euros from 21 euros.

(*) AMPLIFON AMPF.MI

The Italian hearing aid maker aims to grow its business both through organic growth and acquisitions but only if they are profitable, its Chief Executive Enrico Vita was quoted as saying by Corriere della Sera's weekly L'Economia on Monday.

BANCA IFIS IF.MI, ILLIMITY BANK ILTY.MI

Ifis starts full voluntary takeover bid on illimity Bank ILTY.MI shares; ends on June 27.

(*) JUVENTUS JUVE.MI

Juventus manager Igor Tudor applauded Dusan Vlahovic for his commitment after the forward came off the bench to score their second goal in a nervy a 2-0 win over Udinese on Sunday which could prove crucial in the race for a Champions League spot.

(*) LAZIO LAZI.MI

Inter Milan's title hopes were dealt a crushing blow when a late Pedro penalty earned Lazio a 2-2 draw at the San Siro on Sunday, to leave the Serie A champions one point behind Napoli going into the final game of the season.

Shares trading ex-dividend on May 19, or without the right to their latest dividend, are expected to push down Milan's blue-chip index .FTMIB by around 1.76%, traders said on Friday.

The 23 companies involved on the blue chip index are: A2A A2.MI; Amplifon AMPF.MI; Azimut AZMT.MI; Mps BMPS.MI; Banco Bpm BAMI.MI; Pop Sondrio BPSI.MI; Bper EMII.MI; Brunello Cucinelli BCU.MI; Buzzi BZU.MI; Diasorin DIAS.MI; Eni ENI.MI; Finecobank FBK.MI; Generali GASI.MI; Interpump ITPG.MI; Intesa ISP.MI; Inwit INWT.MI; Italgas IG.MI; Moncler MONC.MI; Nexi NEXII.MI; Recordati RECI.MI; Saipem SPMI.MI, Tenaris TENR.MI and Unipol UNPI.MI.

DIARY

Milan, business lobby fashion unit Confindustria Moda holds annual meeting "Energy, the 'Made in Italy' textile-fashion, a strategic supply chain for the future of our Country" (1430 GMT); expected attendees include Brunello Cucinelli BCU.MI CEO Riccardo Stefanelli, Industry Minister Adolfo Urso.

((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

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/