Inwit Shares Plummet as Telecom Italia and Swisscom Forge Tower Venture

European stock markets experienced declines on Thursday, March 19, 2026, as investors awaited monetary policy decisions from the European Central Bank (ECB). Amidst this backdrop, shares of Inwit, an Italian telecom-tower specialist, experienced a significant drop, while developments in the oil and banking sectors also garnered attention.

Market Overview

As of 11:25 am local time, the FTSE Mib index was down 2.18% at 43,765 points, fluctuating between 43,715 and 44,253 points. The FTSE Italia All Share lost 2.23%, with the FTSE Italia Mid Cap and FTSE Italia Star declining by 2.68% and 2.14%, respectively. Bitcoin’s value decreased to $70,500 (approximately €61,500). The spread between the BTP (Italian government bond) and Bund (German government bond) widened to over 80 basis points, with the yield on the 10-year BTP exceeding 3.8%. The euro was trading just above $1.145, while gold slipped to $4,700 and silver collapsed to $71.5.

Telecom Italia and Swisscom Tower Venture

Telecom Italia (TIM) and Swisscom, along with Fastweb+Vodafone, have signed a non-binding agreement to construct and manage modern mobile telephony towers in Italy. The initiative aims to create up to 6,000 new sites, initially through a 50-50 joint venture between Telecom Italia and Fastweb+Vodafone, with plans to attract third-party investors in the future. Source: MarketScreener

Inwit’s Stock Performance

Inwit shares fell sharply in response to the tower venture announcement, dropping as much as 26% in early European trading and erasing year-to-date gains, closing down 18.35%. Source: MarketScreener The company, spun out of TIM in 2020, counts both TIM and Fastweb + Vodafone among its customers.

Sector Performance

The banking sector experienced selling pressure. IntesaSanpaolo declined 2.8% to €5.068, while UniCredit, BPER Bank, and Banca Popolare di Sondrio fell by 3.71%, 3.18%, and 3.16%, respectively.

Oil sector stocks were highlighted after the price of crude oil in New York (April 2026 contract) fell below $96 a barrel, having previously reached $100. ENI bucked the trend, increasing by 1.89% to €23.505.

Other Corporate News

Leonardo finalized the acquisition of the Defense business of Iveco Group (IDV and ASTRA brands) for €1.6 billion, in line with the previously set enterprise value. Iveco Group (+0.34% to €19.285) indicated that the net proceeds from the sale would be distributed to shareholders as an extraordinary dividend, currently estimated at €5.7-5.8 per share.

Technoprobe experienced a significant decline of 12.2% to €14.36 following the release of its 2025 financial results. D’Amico Int. Shipping fell 14.3% to €6.63 after shareholder d’Amico International sold approximately 5% of the company’s capital through an accelerated bookbuilding.

EIB Funding for INWIT

In February 2025, the European Investment Bank (EIB) granted INWIT €350 million in funding to support digitalization and connectivity in Italy, improving mobile coverage, particularly in rural areas. Source: INWIT The funding will be used for macro-grid and micro-grid infrastructure development, including 5G and fixed wireless access (FWA) connections, as well as improved connectivity in public spaces. Source: EIB