While it failed to react much to the announcement at the start of the week, the idea that the UK could be back to ‘normal’ by the summer seems to have finally sunk in for sterling.
GBP/USD surged by half a percent after the bell, striking a fresh 3-year high of $1.4175. And that’s actually below the levels teased in the early moments of the session, when the pound found itself grazing $1.425.
Sterling also took another lump out of the euro. A 0.3% rise pushed the pound to 12-month peak of €1.165 against its single currency rival – though, again, that is off the €1.17-crossing intraday highs struck just after the bell.
All this spelled disaster for the FTSE. With its many multinational constituents uncomfortably eyeing the pound’s blockbuster performance, the index tumbled half a percent to fall the wrong side of 6,600.
In comparison, the DAX rose by roughly the same amount, adding 0.4% to re-cross 13,900. This after it trimmed Tuesday’s heavy losses by the end of the session. As for the CAC, it was unchanged at 5,770.
Looking to this afternoon and, still awaiting the House vote on the American Rescue Plan – the result of which is a guarantee – the Dow Jones is heading for another meek open.
The index is set to once again loiter around 31,500, currently lacking the will or reason to push on to a brand new record peak.
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