The FDA’s Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine approval – essentially a forgone conclusion – failed to prevent the markets slipping into reverse on Friday.
With a no-deal Brexit now a ‘strong possibility’ according to Boris Johnson, the pound and FTSE fell in tandem after the bell.
Shedding 0.4% against dollar and euro alike, sterling is at a 3 and a half week low against the greenback, and a 2 and a half month nadir against its single currency rival.
Normally, this would act as a buffer for the FTSE. Instead the UK index itself dropped 0.8%, tumbling back below 6,560.
That echoed the losses seen in the Eurozone, where the DAX fell 1% to a near 3-week low of 13,170, and the CAC sank 0.9%, slipping the wrong side of 5,500.
It is a sign of the realities of the Brexit talks that the fears of a no-deal separation between the UK and EU have escaped their pound-specific pen, and spread to the rest of the European markets. At this rate, Monday morning could be pretty ugly.
Less fussed by the goings on in Europe, the Dow Jones is set to keep its losses at the lower end of the spectrum. Nevertheless, a 0.3% decline would push the index back towards 29,900, after the Dow closed a fraction below 30,000 yesterday evening.
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