The FTSE MIB fell to around 52,300 on the first trading day of September, following a subdued performance in the previous session, weighed down by rising oil prices amid escalating tensions in the Middle East. Higher oil prices have further fueled inflation concerns, increasing expectations that the ECB will raise interest rates further. Financials came under the most pressure amid continued uncertainty surrounding Italy’s banking consolidation wave, with the largest declines seen in UniCredit (-0.6%), Intesa Sanpaolo (-1.3%), Mediobanca (-1.5%), Banca Mediolanum (-1%), Unipol Gruppo (-0.7%), and MPS (-1.2%). On the flipside, oil major Eni gained more than 1%. On the economic data front, Italy’s GDP growth was confirmed at 0.2% quarter-on-quarter in Q2, while the manufacturing PMI slipped back into contraction in August. Markets will await more data later in the day, including the unemployment rate for July and preliminary inflation figures for August.