With a banking sector rally sending the Dow Jones to levels not seen in nearly 3 months, the European indices found another reason to extend a rally that at multiple points this week has looked like petering out.
Both the FTSE and the pound ignored the brewing, Brexit-based political instability facing Theresa May on Thursday to post some half-decent growth. The UK index rose 24 points, testing the 7750 mark it has struggled to burst through with any longevity since June began.
Sterling, meanwhile, pushed 0.4% higher against the dollar to cross $1.345 and hit a 2 and a half week peak. But it had less luck against the euro, slipping 0.1% as both currencies continue to struggle to assert dominance over the other, a trend that has been in place since late May.
In the eurozone the DAX added another 75 points, shimmying back above 12900 in the process, as investors turned a blind eye to another troublesome drop in German factory orders. Elsewhere CAC was up 0.8%, with the IBEX 35 rising 1.3% and the FTSE MIB climbing 1.1%. What’s surprising about this is that the euro – which has jumped another half a percent against the dollar – got a fairly hawkish signal from the ECB’s Peter Praet on Wednesday, the talk of winding down the central bank’s stimulus programme seemingly having little effect on the region’s indices.
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