Milan bourse closes 2.46% down (4)

(ANSA) - Milan, May 3 - The Milan bourse closed 2.46% down Tuesday as the bellwether FTSE-MIB index fell to 17,966 points, below the psychologically important 18,000-point threshold.
    Banking stocks took a pounding once more. Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) lost 7.5%, UBI 5.1%, Banco Popolare 7.1%, Unicredit 4.6%, BPER 4.3%, Intesa 2.3%, Mediobanca 3.8% and Popolare di Milano 3.5%. The market has been hit by the case of struggling lender Banca Popolare Vicenza (BPV), which was refused a bourse listing on Monday and is set to be taken over by new bank fund Atlante.
    The fund is taking a 99.33% stake in BPV having underwritten a capital increase to the tune of 1.5 billion euros. Investors are now looking closely at Veneto Banca, which risks going down the same road, and Carige, trading in which was suspended before it posted an 8% loss.
    European stock markets also suffered, but less so, with London 0.9% down, Frankfurt 1.9% off and Paris 1.5% down.