The FTSE clawed its way above 7,000 thanks to optimism surrounding travel this summer – though such positivity was far from consistent across Europe.
Reports indicate that the UK is preparing to greenlight up to 8 or 9 EU nations for travel this summer, in a cautious – some would say not cautious enough – attempt to kickstart holiday season.
At this point beleaguered travel stocks will take whatever summer holiday season they can get, leading to strong gains from TUI (LON:TUIT), easyJet (LON:EZJ) and IAG (LON:ICAG).
This translated to a 0.55% rise from the FTSE, hefting the blue-chip index to a 2-week peak of 7,010.
The pound, meanwhile, was down 0.2% against the dollar but up the same amount against the euro.
With Oktoberfest cancelled for a 2nd year in a row, the DAX wasn’t in the same celebratory mood as the FTSE, instead dropping half a percent to 15,155. In contrast, the CAC eked out a 0.1% increase, keeping it above 6,300.
Climbing back above 34,000 on Monday, the Dow Jones is set to pull back slightly this afternoon, dropping 50 points to 34,070.
It’s a big week for the US markets, but one that takes a while to get to the good stuff, with little of true value to tide investors over until Friday’s potentially Fed-shifting nonfarm jobs report.
This afternoon’s offerings include a trade balance reading, and the latest factory orders figures, which are forecast to rise from -0.8% to 1.3% month-on-month.
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