The European markets started Friday intending to rebound, in part thanks to the latest positive signs from the US stimulus talks.
The key comment came from Nancy Pelosi, who said she and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin were ‘just about there’ on a coronavirus relief plan. It’s a move that has angered Republicans, who perceive Mnuchin as giving up too much ground to get a deal done, with the reported $1.9 trillion agreement set to face a tough time of it getting through the GOP-controlled Senate.
Nevertheless, it was the kind of progress the markets are after, and allowed the Dow Jones to rise 150 points on Thursday night.
Friday morning then saw a far better than forecast UK retail sales reading, a strong German flash manufacturing PMI, and news that Barclays (LON:BARC) posted £1.1 billion in third quarter profit, as it set aside less money than expected for covid-19-related bad loans.
In response the FTSE shot up 1.1%, returning to 5850, while the DAX drove 1% higher to 12,665, and the CAC climbed 1.3% to 4900.
The Dow Jones is looking at a much quieter start, with the futures only suggesting a 0.2% increase, despite a winning performance from Joe Biden during last night’s 2nd and final presidential debate. So far the US markets have been reticent to act much on election headlines, which might be a holdover from 2016 – however far ahead Biden is in the polls, Trump is a movie monster who won’t stay down.
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