** Italy's Reply REY.MI rise 6.5% after the Italian digital service firm launched a share buyback program for up to 9.6% of its capital
** The program "gives a signal of confidence in the prospects of the business with valuation at record lows", Equita says, adding this is Reply's first "substantial" buyback
** The broker still expects the company to continue to favour M&A in terms of capital allocation and to accelerate on that front
** Including Friday's rise, shares are down 25.76% YTD
(Reporting by Anna Uras)
((Anna.Uras@thomsonreuters.com))