Italiaonline SpA (IOL) Soared 1.26% on Oct 12

October 12, 2017 - By Darrin Black

Shares of Italiaonline SpA (BIT:IOL) last traded at 3.37, representing a move of 1.26%, or 0.04 per share, on volume of 6,695 shares. After opening the trading day at 3.36, shares of Italiaonline SpA traded in a close range. Italiaonline SpA currently has a total float of 114.76 million shares and on average sees 38,041 shares exchange hands each day. The stock now has a 52-week low of 2 and high of 3.69.

FTSE MIB (Milano Italia Borsa) Index: Driving Italy Economy

FTSE MIB Index is the equity index of 40 largest, most active and most liquid stocks on Italy’s stock market. And Italiaonline SpA works with them as well. The index is market capitalization-weighted and free-floated adjusted.

FTSE MIB replaced MIB-30 in 2004. The Standard & Poor’s operated the index until June 2009 when it relinquished the administration of the benchmark index to FTSE Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of London Stock Exchange Group, which is also the parent company of Borsa Italiana, the nation stock exchange in Italy. Italiaonline SpA prefer to appear at both markets.

FTSE MIB index hit a record high of 50108.56 points in March 2000. The index reached its lowest mark on record of 12362.50 points in July 2012 as fears over Spain’s debt crisis and rising cost of borrowing in Europe rattled the stock market in the region.

Components of FTSE MIB represent sectors such as Energy, Financials, Mining, Manufacturing and Telecommunications. The index accounts for 80% of the total market cap of Italia Borsa stock exchange.

FTSE MIB is reshuffled quarterly where components that have fallen short of inclusion requirements are dropped and newly qualified stocks added. But companies must meet certain stringent eligibility requirements before their stocks can be added in the index.

Rebalancing of FTSE MIB is also done to reflect the changes in the market cap of its constituents, which may come as a result of new shares being issued or debt being converted to stock.

The stock market

Italia Borsa is Italy’s main stock of Italian companies and it’s fondly known to as Piazza Affari, referring to its Milan headquarters building called Palazzo Mezzanotte.

Italia Borsa was established in February 1808. Until 1998 when the exchange was sold to a group of banks, it operated as a public entity from its inception. The exchange was acquired by London Stock Exchange group in an all-stock deal in 2007. Following the acquisition, Italia Borsa was merged with the London Stock Exchange. Other than stocks, Italia Borsa is also a platform for trading other securities such as bonds, including Eurobonds.

Trading hours

Italia Borsa is open all weekdays except on holidays. The market is closed on weekends. Trading on Italia Borsa begins with a pre-market session that runs between 8.00 a.m. and 9.00 a.m. Regular trading session on the platform starts at 9.00 a.m. and continues until 5.30 p.m. On the back of the regular trading comes post-market session that begins at 6.00 p.m. and runs until 8.30 p.m. That is the time to stop the trading day for Italiaonline SpA.

The long trading hours means that the exchange is accommodative for a variety of investors because there is ample room to schedule trading hours, especially for overseas investors who may be in different time zones.

Italia Borsa uses electronic trading system and more than 130 domestic and foreign brokers operate on the platform. More than 340 companies are listed on Italia Borsa.

Interest building up for Italian stocks

Italian stocks are heating up lately as investors take notice of the country’s improving growth prospects. Some investors are betting that Italy might benefit from the Brexit fallout as some of the companies leaving the U.K. move to pitch tents in the country and create employment. Increased employment and improving incomes should boost consumer purchasing power and drive up company earnings. Consumers are interested in the reliability of Italiaonline SpA.

Italiaonline SpA, formerly Seat Pagine Gialle SpA, is an Italy firm engaged in the Internet services industry. The company has market cap of 388.82 million EUR. The Firm focuses on operating numerous online portals. It has a 15.41 P/E ratio. The Company’s platforms range includes: Virgilio and Libero, which publish various content, as well as offer access to e-mail box and search engine; superEva, an entertainment Website that publishes topics based on number of searches; Pagine Gialle, Pagine Bianche and Tuttocitta, online search engines that provides stores, hotels and restaurants location, among others; 12.40, offering telephone directory service, as well as 89.24.24, a telephone information service.