News: EQE Italy - Factors to watch on Aug. 18

The following factors could affect Italian markets on Thursday.

Reuters has not verified the newspaper reports, and cannot vouch for their accuracy. New items are marked with (*).

For a complete list of diary events in Italy please click on

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	COMPANIES 

ENI ENI.MI The North Caspian Oil Consortium (NCOC), that includes Eni and operates the giant Kashagan oilfield in Kazakhstan, has partially restored oil output from the field and repair works are ongoing, the company told Reuters on Wednesday.

GENERALI GASI.MI Italy's largest insurer said on Wednesday it had bought back some 1.65 million of its own shares in the August 8-12 period, for a total value of around 25.12 million euros, as a part of its buyback programme. Following the purchases, Generali holds treasury shares equal to 0.57% of its capital.

Milan Stock Exchange After Hours market closed.

	............. .PL.MI  
	FTSE IT allshare index  .FTITLMS  

FTSE Mib index........ .FTMIB FTSE Allstars index... .FTSTAR FTSE Mid Cap index.... .FTITMC Block trades.......... .BLK.MI Stories on Italy...... IT-LEN brackets:

European Equities speed guide................... EUR/EQUITY FTSEurofirst 300 index.............................. .FTEU3 DJ STOXX index...................................... .STOXX Top 10 STOXX sectors........................... .PGL.STOXXS Top 10 EUROSTOXX sectors...................... .PGL.STOXXES Top 10 Eurofirst 300 sectors................... .PGL.FTEU3S Top 25 European pct gainers....................... .PG.PEUR Top 25 European pct losers........................ .PL.PEUR

Main stock markets: Dow Jones............... .DJI Wall Street report ..... Nikkei 225............. .N225 Tokyo report............ FTSE 100............... .FTSE London report........... Xetra DAX............. .GDAXI Frankfurt market stories CAC-40................. .FCHI Paris market stories... World Indices..................................... 0#.INDEX Reuters survey of world bourse outlook......... EQUITYPOLL1 Western European IPO diary.......................... WEUIPO European Asset Allocation........................ Reuters News at a Glance: Equities............... Main currency report:...............................