The Italian Securities Commission (Consob) published its report “Trends and challenges for the Italian financial sector”, reviewing 2024 developments in equity markets and savings allocation and highlighting structural issues affecting euro area market financing. The report finds that equity market performance was generally positive but uneven amid rising geopolitical tensions and weak economic growth in the euro area, with the S&P 500 up around 23% versus an 8% rise in the EuroStoxx50. Among major European indices, the Dax40 rose 19%, the Ibex35 15% and Italy’s FTSE MIB 13%, while France’s CAC40 fell 2%. It also compares households’ liquidity holdings relative to market instruments, reporting a 17% ratio in the United States versus 60% in the eurozone and 48% in Italy, and estimates that around EUR 6.5tn would need to flow into euro area capital markets to align the euro area with the US ratio. Further findings include a rising correlation, particularly in the US, between equity market performance and bitcoin prices, continuing delistings in the eurozone and Italy, and lower institutional investor presence in Italian listed SMEs (around 11% of average market capitalisation) compared with larger companies (over 30%), alongside calls to continue regulatory simplification and strengthen financial education.

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