Despite a tsunami of terrifying covid-19 headlines throughout the weekend into Monday morning, the markets continued to err on the positive side of cautious.
The FTSE, which had dipped into the red – if only just – at the start of the session, found itself up 0.3%, pushing it close to 6200. The index benefited from a 3% rise for BP (LON:BP), which today announced it would be selling its petrochemicals business to Ineos Group for a handy $5 billion. It’s a move that both raises cash for a firm that has been severely hit by the pandemic, while streamlining and potentially reinventing the oil giant into a different kind of energy company.
The DAX and CAC were even keener to ignore news that coronavirus cases and deaths have crossed 10 million and 500,000 respectively worldwide. The German index added 0.7% as it retook 12180, with its French counterpart crossing 4900 thanks to a half a percent increase.
The Dow Jones is set to join in with this baffling optimism when traders clock-in stateside. The futures are pointing to a 200 point surge post-open, one that would leave the Dow painfully close to 25250. For context, it closed out last Monday at 26150, meaning it still has a lot of catching up to do if it wants to claw back its end of June decline.
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