And so, the saga stretches on, neither the UK nor EU wanting to be the ones responsible for officially announcing a no deal Brexit.
Even if it may be a case of deferred pain – though both sides have pledged to go the ‘extra mile’ in search of an agreement before the end of December – the pound let out a huge sigh of relief at the start of Monday.
Against the dollar sterling surged 1.2%, returning cable to a one-week peak of $1.3388. Against the euro it was a smidge less robust, but still climbed 0.9% to €1.102.
While the pound’s gains created a blockage for the FTSE 100, limiting its growth to just 0.2%, the FTSE 250 was right there with its currency, jumping 1.5% as British-based stocks similarly rushed to celebrate the faint glimmer of hope provided by the weekend’s events.
The Eurozone indices also seemed pretty relieved (it helped that the euro took a knock). The DAX and CAC both rose 0.8%, crossing 13,200 and 5,550 respectively.
The Dow Jones – which realistically doesn’t care quite as much about the Brexit saga as the European indices – is set to indulge in some gains of its own. The futures have the Dow up 170 points, back above 30,200, once against hunting down its all-time highs.
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