Telecom Italia shares gained 5% on the Milan Stock Exchange after the telecoms operator agreed to hold discussions with US investment fund KKR on its proposed takeover bid. On Sunday night, Telecom Italia announced that its board of directors had mandated its chairman, Salvatore Rossi, and chief executive, Pietro Labriola, to begin "formal discussions" with KKR with the aim of "maximising value" for shareholders. Telecom Italia is becoming more attractive in light of developments regarding a possible takeover of the Italian telecoms operator by US private equity firm KKR, according to Bryan, Garnier & Co, which is upgrading its recommendation on the stock from "neutral" to "buy". A successful transaction would make Telecom Italia more attractive, as would the opportunities offered by a new business plan, says Bryan, Garnier & Co. adding that risks now appear limited at current price levels. The investment bank is lowering its price target for the stock to 36 euro cents, from 40 euro cents, in light of the latest business outlook.

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On Monday, the Swiss stock market seamlessly continued the positive trend recorded at the end of last week. Banking stocks were in demand across Europe, with Credit Suisse, UBS and Julius Baer advancing by up to 2.7 per cent in Switzerland. European banks had considerable amounts of surplus capital, and there was no systemic risk even in the event of further loan defaults. In addition, market interest rates rose; in the USA, the yield on ten-year government bonds climbed to a three-year high. This also supported the shares of Swiss Re (+2.8%). The reinsurer is not entering into any new business with Russian and Belarusian clients until further notice. Novartis (+2.5%) is buying in the UK through its subsidiary Sandoz, and the pharmaceutical giant also reported positive study results. In the luxury goods sector, Richemont (-2.4%) and Swatch (-1.4%) tumbled. The businesses of both groups could fall victim to new Russia sanctions. In addition, the gloomy economic outlook in the important Chinese sales market also weighed on business due to new Corona lockdowns. Against the sector trend, Lalique gained 5.7 per cent after reporting figures.

European stocks rose and oil prices fell as investors surveyed developments in Ukraine. There was optimism among investors even as multiple risks to higher consumer prices boiled under the surface; namely, the Russia-Ukraine war and a disruptive Covid-19 wave in China. Elevated inflation threatens to complicate the job of the Federal Reserve as its monetary policy group-the Federal Open Market Committee-meets this week to decide on interest-rate policy. The Stoxx Europe 600 index gained 1.2% to 436.4 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and SBF 120 gained 1.8% and 1.7% respectively. In Frankfurt, the DAX 40 advanced by 2.2%, while the FTSE 100 rose by 0.5% in London. Orpea (-1.9%) released preliminary financial indicators for its 2021 financial year on Friday, with the release of its full-year results expected "by the end of April" pending several reports on accusations of neglect and abuse against it. Last year, Orpea achieved an Ebitda of 1.04 billion euros, up 12%. Analysts at Berenberg have raised their recommendation on Deutsche Bank (+8% in Frankfurt) from "sell" to "hold", following the publication by the German bank of a more robust net banking income than expected. Volkswagen (+4.3% in Frankfurt) announced on Friday evening a strong growth of its results in 2021. The German carmaker also announced its targets for 2022, expecting an operating margin of between 7% and 8.5%, up from 7.7% in 2021. Sanofi (-0.7%) announced that the AMEERA-3 phase 2 trial evaluating amcenestrant in advanced or metastatic breast cancer did not meet its primary endpoint of improving progression-free survival.

Stocks and oil prices tumbled Monday as investors assessed the impact of new Covid-19 outbreaks in China and awaited a likely interest-rate increase by the Federal Reserve later this week. The technology-focused Nasdaq Composite dropped 262.59 points, or 2%, to 12581.22, its lowest level since December 2020, as China locked down the key manufacturing regions of Shenzhen and Changchun due to a fresh outbreak of Covid-19 cases in those cities. The S&P 500, which has fallen for four of the five past weeks, declined 31.20 points, or 0.7%, to 4173.11. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 1.05 points to 32945.24, snapping a two-session losing streak. Shares of Apple fell 2.7% as the lockdown in China disrupted manufacturing by a key supplier. Other technology bellwethers also struggled. Amazon.com fell 2.5%; Alphabet, parent of Google, dropped 3%. Oil prices ended sharply lower as traders hope that Russian-Ukrainian talks will lead to a ceasefire on the ground. Prices were also held back in late trading by media reports that the US may lift sanctions on Venezuelan oil to make up for the supply shortfall caused by sanctions against Russia. The April contract for Nymex-listed light sweet crude (WTI) ended down 5.8 percent at $103.01. Exxon lost 3.6 percent and Chevron 2.4 percent in the wake of the barrel's decline. Among the Dow Jones financials, American Express rebounded 4.9% and Visa gained 3.6%. Taiwanese technology group Foxconn, one of Apple's main suppliers (-2.7%), announced on Sunday evening that it was temporarily closing two production sites located in Shenzhen, China, due to containment measures imposed in that city after a sharp increase in cases of Covid-19. Pfizer (+3.9%) CEO Albert Bourla told CBS News on Sunday that Covid-19 would not disappear in the coming years and that vaccinated people would need a fourth dose this year. The Russian judiciary has warned Western companies operating in Russia, threatening to seize the assets of companies that withdraw from the country. Last week, Russian prosecutors issued warnings to companies such as Coca-Cola (+1.1%), McDonald's (-0.2%), Procter & Gamble (+1.4%), IBM (unchanged) and Yum Brands (-2.6%), the owner of KFC, through telephone calls, letters and visits.

In Asia, major indexes broadly closed with losses on Tuesday. The indices in Shanghai and Hong Kong were again under significant pressure, falling by 2.8 and 3.7 per cent respectively. Adding to the negative sentiment were rising cases of Covid-19 cases in China. In addition, there were continuing uncertainties about tighter regulatory controls by the USA against Chinese companies listed there. This put further downward pressure on technology stocks. Alibaba Group fell by 7.5 per cent and the shares of Country Garden Services slumped by 2.6 per cent.

The market is awaiting the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting, which has already indicated planning to raise its key rates on Wednesday. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note gained nearly 15 basis points on Monday to 2.143% from 1.998% on Friday evening. The yield on the German Bund with the same maturity closed at 0.368%, compared with 0.251% on Friday evening.

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