It took them all weekend, but the European Union member states have come out the other side of the latest Brussels summit holding aloft a shiny €750 billion covid-19 rescue-package.
The deal isn’t without its compromises. Though Macron and Merkel were initial seeking a €500 billion grant programme for the EU’s worst hit – largely Southern (NYSE:SO) – members, stiff opposition from the ‘frugal’, mainly Northern, fivesome of Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and the Netherlands saw that number reduced to €390 billion.
Still, given how rocky things were looking at points over the weekend, it’s a relief the package got over the line. And the European indices weren’t ready to look a gift horse in the mouth.
The DAX led the way, surging 1.5% to a 5-month high of 13250. The CAC, meanwhile, added 1%, climbing to a 6-week peak of 5150. There were even greater gains from the likes of the Spanish Ibex, up 1.7%, and the Italian FTSE MIB, which rocketed nearly 2% higher.
Very much on the sidelines news-wise, the FTSE had to settle for a comparatively meagre half a percent increase, once again taking the UK index within touching distance of its regular 6300 ceiling. This came after it fell yesterday despite the incredibly positive update from the University of Oxford vaccine trials.
Looking ahead of the Dow Jones, which had a mild one on Monday, is set to join in with the celebrations, eyeing a 0.7% jump after the bell.
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