(Alliance News) - Piazza Affari -- according to the futures market -- is expected to open bullish Friday after the U.S. Senate approved legislation allowing the United States to avoid a debt default, which would have been an unprecedented event.

In Tokyo on Friday, the Nikkei 225 index was up 1.1 percent. The Shanghai Composite is in the green by 0.8 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index is picking up 3.9 percent.

U.S. senators voted Thursday to suspend the federal debt limit, ending weeks of tough negotiations to eliminate the threat of a disastrous credit default just four days before the Treasury's deadline.

Economists had warned that the U.S. government could run out of cash to pay its bills by Monday. That left almost no room for delays in enacting the Fiscal Responsibility Act, which extends the government's borrowing authority through 2024 while reducing federal spending.

Elaborated between Democratic President Joe Biden and Republicans, the measure passed in the Senate with a comfortable majority of 63 votes to 36, a day after passing in the House of Representatives.

Thus, the FTSE Mib, after avare closed up 2.0 percent at 26,575.69, marking a rise of 145.00 points.

In Europe, London's FTSE 100 rises 25.50 points, Paris' CAC 40 advances 34.00 points, and Frankfurt's DAX 40 rises 91.00 points.

Last night, the Mid-Cap gained 0.9 percent to 42,160.52, the Small-Cap rose 0.8 percent to 27,274.30, and Italy Growth rose 0.1 percent to 9,091.30.

On the highest-capitalization list in Piazza Affari on Thursday, Recordati ran, leading the way with a 4.8 percent rise at the end of the session.

Banks also rallied, with UniCredit and Intesa Sanpaolo among the best in the basket, accomplishing gains of 4.6 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively.

Prysmian rebounded, and with it all industrials: the cable company gained 3.2 percent while Leonardo gained 3.0 percent.

Italgas rose 1.0% after announcing that it has launched a new fixed-rate bond issue on the market with a nine-year maturity and an expected nominal value of EUR500 million.

"The transaction responds to a logic of pre-funding requirements and is consistent with Italgas' strategy of optimizing its debt structure and extending the average maturity of the company's bond portfolio," the utility explained.

Also doing well was Amplifon, up 0.3 percent, which signed a new sustainability-linked revolving credit facility with a syndicate of banks for a total amount of EUR300 million.

This new line, with a term of three years and the option to extend for an additional two years at the company's discretion, gives Amplifon greater financial flexibility, further strengthening the group's strong liquidity position, diversifying its sources of funding and extending the average maturity of its debt.

On the Mid-Cap, Fincantieri closed at a breakeven after it and its subsidiary Vard signed a memorandum of understanding with Heddle Shipyards, Thales Canada, and SH Defence during CANSEC 2023, Canada's largest defense exhibition, to enshrine the collaboration that will offer the Vigilance Class Offshore Patrol Vessel as part of the Canadian government's upcoming naval acquisition strategy to replace the Kingston Class.

Maire Tecnimont gained 0.5 percent. The company announced Thursday that its subsidiary KT-Kinetics Technology, part of its Integrated E&C Solutions business unit, has been awarded preliminary engineering work for a new green fertilizer complex in North America by a group of private investors.

The preliminary work, which will be performed on a reimbursable basis, is aimed at defining the design and major aspects of the project. Once completed, activities will enter the engineering, procurement and construction phase and will be executed by Maire's IE&CS subsidiaries.

Prominent among them are Juventus, which gained 5.1 percent, and OVS, up 3.4 percent, whose shareholders appointed a new board of directors, choosing Franco Moscetti as chairman. Stefano Beraldo is the new chief executive officer.

Among small-cap companies, Gequity is flying, up 27 percent, doing better than Exprivia, up 19 percent.

Mondo TV also gained ground, up 4.3 percent, after signing a distribution agreement with LEE Editorial to distribute the live action series "Action KidZ." The exclusive worldwide distribution agreement runs for four years starting June 1 and provides for revenue sharing between the parties.

"The series aims to introduce young people to different sports disciplines, inspiring them to lead an active life: the series features 35 different and unique sports activities practiced by ordinary children, united by a great passion for sports," the company explained.

At the bottom, Class Editori recorded one of the worst performances in the basket, complicit with a 3.3 percent drop.

Among the SMEs listed on the Italian Stock Exchange, Italia Independent resumed the run recorded in the past month and closed the session with a 26 percent rise.

MeglioQuesto gained 15 percent after reporting that it closed the first quarter with revenues of EUR24.7 million, up 50 percent from EUR16.5 million as of March 31, 2022. Value of production is EUR25.0 million, up 48 percent from EUR16.9 million as of March 31, 2022.

Ebitda stands at EUR3.9 million, up 44% from EUR2.7 million as of March 31, 2022. Adjusted Ebitda stands at EUR4.2 million, up 40% from EUR3.0 million in the first quarter of the previous year.

In New York overnight Europe, the Dow closed up 0.5 percent, the Nasdaq up 1.3 percent, and the S&P 500 gained 1 percent.

Among currencies, the euro changed hands at USD1.0772 versus USD1.0731 at Thursday's European stock close. In contrast, the pound is worth USD1.2538 from USD1.2522 last night.

Among commodities, Brent crude is worth USD74.88 per barrel versus USD72.68 per barrel last night. Gold, on the other hand, trades at USD1,981.24 an ounce from USD1,974.36 an ounce Wednesday night.

Friday's macroeconomic calendar opens with French industrial production data at 0845 CEST, followed 15 minutes later by Spanish unemployment data.

In the afternoon, for the U.S., focus on private sector payrolls and the unemployment rate, due at 1430 CEST, before Baker Hughes data on the number of drilling rigs, due at 1900 CEST.

Among the companies in the Square, no results are expected to come in.

By Maurizio Carta, Alliance News senior reporter

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