ROME, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Foreign shareholders of Italy's central bank should not be able to claim rights over the country's gold reserves, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's nationalist pDec 11 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 rose on Thursday, buoyed by gains in precious metal miners, after the Federal Reserve's softer tone on the monetary policy path supported sentiment globally.
The FTSE 100 (.FTSE), closed up 0.5%, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 (.FTMC), index added 0.10%.
The Fed lowered rates by an expected 25 basis points in a divided vote on Wednesday, but signalled interest rates are unlikely to fall further in the near term as it awaits clarity on the labour market.
Still, traders continued to bet on more easing from the U.S. central bank.
Even as Wall Street indexes wobbled on concerns about lofty AI spending by tech companies, other pockets of the equity markets rose. Europe's STOXX 600 index (.STOXX), closed up 0.6%.
Investors are looking ahead to the UK's October GDP data on Friday for clues on the health of the domestic economy.
The Bank of England is widely expected to cut interest rates next week, with a Reuters poll showing all economists forecasting a 25-basis-point cut to 3.75%, as easing inflation and softer economic signals sway a narrowly split MPC toward loosening policy.
The FTSE 350 precious metal miners (.FTNMX551020), rose 3.2%, as gold and silver prices climbed against a weaker dollar following the Fed's rate cut.
Among individual stocks, Entain (ENT.L), fell 2.2% after the gambling firm said International Distribution Services executive Michael Snape will replace finance chief and deputy CEO Rob Wood next year.
Industrial and electronic components provider RS Group (RS1R.L), topped the FTSE 250 with a 6.2% gain after a rating upgrade from J.P. Morgan, while Ceres Power (CWR.L), slid 10.6% after Grizzly Research disclosed a short position in the clean-energy firm.
Reporting by Tharuniyaa Lakshmi in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore and Philippa Fletcher
arty said in an internal document, amid a mounting spat between the ruling coalition and the ECB over the matter.
The European Central Bank twice urged the ruling coalition - including Meloni's Brothers of Italy - to reconsider an amendment to its 2026 budget law, under which the Bank of Italy's gold belongs to "the Italian people", citing risks to the central bank's independence.
"Italy cannot run the risk of private investors claiming rights over the Italian gold reserves. This is why we need a law that clarifies ownership," Meloni's party said in the internal report, stressing some of the Bank of Italy's stakeholders were foreign.
THIRD-LARGEST NATIONAL GOLD RESERVES
The Bank of Italy, a public institution independent from the government, holds the world's third-largest national gold stockpile, behind the United States and Germany.
Its 2,452 metric tons of gold are worth some $300 billion, equivalent to roughly 13% of Italy's national output.
Shares in the capital of the central bank are held by 175 financial stakeholders, including Italian banking heavyweights Intesa SanPaolo (ISP.MI), and UniCredit (CRDI.MI), as well as France's lender Credit Agricole (CAGR.PA), and German insurer Allianz .
"Gold reserves are owned by the people who have accumulated them over the years, and therefore, in this case, by the Italian people.
This is a provision that everyone takes for granted. Yet it has never been codified in Italian law, unlike in other countries, including EU member states," the document added.
The party's position was laid down in a "non-suitable for distribution" five-page internal document sent to lawmakers and seen by Reuters.
While opposing the initiative, the ECB said in both its legal opinions that national central banks and their decision-making bodies should not seek or take instructions from any member state government.
Frankfurt also warned that a transfer of gold reserves off the Bank of Italy's balance sheet would circumvent the prohibition on central banks financing the public sector.
Senator Lucio Malan, one of the amendment's sponsors, said the government was working on a rewording to take into account the remarks from the ECB.
Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti is expected to discuss the matter with the ECB's chief Christine Lagarde on the sidelines of this week's finance ministers' summit in Brussels, politicians said.
Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte and Angelo Amante; Editing by Alex Richardson
