Italy’s New Tax Wipes Out $10 Billion From Market Value of Banks
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Italian stocks dropped after a surprise new tax on bank profits sent the country’s lenders tumbling, erasing €9.3 billion ($10.2 billion) from their combined market capitalization. A surge by drugmaker Novo Nordisk to a record high helped cap declines in the broader European index.
Italy’s FTSE MIB fell 2.1%, with UniCredit SpA dropping 5.9% while Intesa Sanpaolo SpA sank 8.7%. The Stoxx Europe 600 index declined 0.2% by the close in London. Novo Nordisk jumped after a highly anticipated study showed that its Wegovy obesity treatment reduced the risk of heart attacks and strokes. The company is now closing in on LVMH as the biggest European firm by market capitalization.