With Boris Johnson en route to Brussels, in a Brexit saga rapidly hurtling towards its crescendo, the pound displayed some fragile hope this Wednesday.
Though the chances of a deal come down to a private dinner between the PM and European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen, chances that Michel Barnier have described as ‘very slim’, sterling wasn’t giving up just yet.
Instead, the pound rose half a percent against the dollar, clawing its way back above $1.341, and 0.2% against the euro, putting it the right side of €1.055. Now it has just got to withstand a session’s worth of speculation, where every comment and report is going to be under an intense spotlight.
In a fairly rare sight, the pound’s gains were accompanied by a 0.6% increase from the FTSE, which joined its European peers in the green following news that the Oxford/AstraZeneca PLC (LON:AZN) vaccine has been confirmed as having 70% efficacy.
That rise leaves the FTSE at 6,600, a level it last struck just over 9-months ago. It’s a hell of a rise from its 4,750-approaching nadir seen in the latter half of March, but still around 1000 points off the 7,600 highs seen in the heady days of January.
Elsewhere the DAX climbed above 13,400 thanks to a 1% increase, while the CAC neared 5,600 with a 0.6% jump.
As for the Dow Jones, it is potentially heading for a fresh all-time high this afternoon, with the futures having it open just shy of 30,300.
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