MILAN -Shares in Italy's second-biggest bank UniCredit rose in early trade on Monday as investors welcomed the dimming chances of a deal involving bailed-out Russian lender Otkritie Bank.
UniCredit had accessed Otkritie's books earlier this month to check whether it could be interested in parts of its business, sources had said.
Otkritie has been put on the block by Russia's central bank which is looking to divest more than four years after bailing it out as part of a clean-up of the sector.
Russian business daily Kommersant reported on Monday UniCredit had lost interest in Otkritie, which a person close to the matter said looked set to be the likely outcome of the due diligence analysis being carried out.
News of UniCredit's interest had irked markets, with analysts saying the benefits of a merger would not offset higher risks UniCredit would expose itself to given geopolitical tensions.
After trimming earlier gains, shares in UniCredit rose 0.14% by 0842 GMT, compared with a slightly negative banking index .