Italian stocks fall 2.54% as technology shares slide on doubts over AI returns
Key Facts
Italian stocks closed sharply lower on 22 October 2026, with the FTSE MIB falling 2.54% to 48,383.66 points, according to closing data published by Investing.com. The decline came amid pressure on technology shares that Teleborsa coverage published in La Repubblica linked to doubts over sustainable returns on artificial intelligence investments. In the same session, the Investing Italy 40 index closed down 2.59% at 4,732.5 points, according to the website's historical data. That index had ended the 21 October 2026 session up 1.23% at 4,858.5 points. The latest session's decline thus erased the previous session's gains, taking the index below its closing level. The two Italian indices posted similar losses during the session, with different closing levels and percentage declines.
Losses in Prysmian and Technoprobe stood out among the selling pressures covered in reports on technology shares in the Italian market. Prysmian fell 7.61% to end the 22 October session at 100.1000 euros, according to Investing.com's historical share data. Technoprobe dropped 7.63% to 24.70 euros at the close of the same session, according to the website's data. Each stock's loss exceeded the declines in the two market indices, while Technoprobe's percentage drop was slightly larger than Prysmian's. Teleborsa placed the pressure on Italian technology shares in a European context, citing continued concern over the financial viability of spending on artificial intelligence. It said in its coverage: "Sentiment remains weighed down by doubts that artificial intelligence investments will translate into sustainable returns over the medium and long term."
The selloff followed other pressures linked to oil prices and French risks, according to Reuters coverage of the Italian market on 20 October. In that report, the news agency cited geopolitics and France among the factors weighing on trading. It said Brent crude exceeded 110 dollars a barrel during that session. In the Italian economy, final data from national statistics institute Istat confirmed that inflation accelerated in September 2026. Consumer prices, as measured by the national index, rose 4.2% year on year, compared with 3.3% in August, putting the pace of price increases above the previous month's level. The institute said the final reading confirmed September's preliminary estimate, leaving the inflation picture unchanged following completion of the monthly data revision.
The upcoming calendar begins with Eni's results for the third quarter of 2026, which the company plans to publish on Friday, 23 October. Eni scheduled the earnings release for when the stock exchange is closed, according to the company's financial results page. Next, the European Central Bank's official calendar sets 29 October 2026 as the date for the Governing Council's monetary policy meeting. In Italy, that date coincides with the release of preliminary employment and unemployment data for September, according to Istat's calendar. The institute's schedule for the same day also includes October consumer and business confidence data, alongside the labour market release covering the previous month. Thus, 29 October brings together the European monetary policy meeting and Italian releases covering employment conditions and consumers' and businesses' assessments of economic conditions.