The FTSE MIB rose 0.5% to around 52,700 in early trading on Friday, heading for a weekly advance and tracking gains across Asian peers amid signs of expanding regional activity.
This followed Thursday’s weak US jobs report, which led investors to scale back expectations of a near-term Federal Reserve rate hike.
On the data front, Italy’s services activity returned to growth in June.
Shares of Prysmian advanced 2.7% after JPMorgan raised its price target on the stock to €190 from €170 while maintaining an “overweight” rating.
Other key gainers included Enel (0.9%), Tenaris (0.9%), Unipol Gruppo (1.1%), Saipem (1.8%), Nexi (1.6%), and Amplifon (1.8%).
The index has risen more than 2% so far this week.