Italy's Avio surges on US-linked air defence contract
Shares in Italy's Avio AVI.MI rise as much as 9.8% after the group signs a $65 million (56.16 million euros) solid rocket motor contract for air-defence applications
The 3-year contract, signed with a U.S. joint venture acting as prime contractor for the Pentagon, may also leverage the rocket maker's U.S. site
Order visibility is "critical" to Avio's long-term growth narrative, brokerage Jefferies says
The order demonstrates strong demand in the segment, which is even more evident considering recent geopolitical developments, brokerage Equita notes
Avio is set to join the Italian blue-chip stock index FTSE Mib .FTMIB on March 23, the FTSE Italia Index Series Technical Committee wrote on March 4
Including Friday's rise, the stock has gained 25.38% YTD
(1 euro = $1.1575)
