While the FTSE failed to start, the European indices broadly rebounded on Friday morning, tentatively hinting at a positive end to what has been a messy week.
Olli Rehn, the head of Finland’s central bank, threw a lifeline to the markets as he told the Wall Street Journal that ‘it’s often better to overshoot than undershoot, and better to have a very strong package of policy measures than to tinker’. This has got investors mulling over what kind of market-lifting, downturn-challenging buffet the ECB could lay out next month, alongside whether its global central bank peers would follow suit.
In response, the DAX rose 80 points, hefting across 11500 having at one point on Thursday fallen below 11270. The CAC, meanwhile, took back 0.6%, with the Spanish IBEX up 0.5% and the Italian FTSE MIB jumping nearly 0.9%.
After making the most of reports that a rebellion might be brewing to form a Corbyn-led, no-deal Brexit-avoiding temporary government on Thursday, the pound continued to eke out its rebound on Friday. Cable held above $1.212 as it added 0.1%, while against the euro sterling’s 0.2% pushed it above €1.0923 for the first time in 11 days – remember, it started the week striking a 10-year nadir against its single currency cousin.
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