European stocks saw mixed trading action Thursday to kick off November, with the pan-European index rising, while London’s equity market retreated amid a surge in the pound following reports that an accord on Brexit may be at hand.
How did markets perform?
The Stoxx Europe 600
SXXP, +0.41%
gained 0.4% to end at 363.08, after the index fell 5.6% on Wednesday, its largest one-month decline since January 2016.
Germany’s DAX 30
DAX, +0.18%
edged 0.2% higher at 11,468.54, also following that bourse’s worst month in about two years. The DAX has declined in three consecutive months. France’s CAC 40
PX1, -0.15%
slipped 0.2% to 5,085.78, while the U.K.’s FTSE 100
UKX, -0.19%
fell 0.2% to finish at 7,114.66. October marked the worst monthly decline for the FTSE and CAC in about three years.
The euro
EURUSD, +0.0701%
traded at $1.1401 from $1.13476 late Wednesday in New York. The pound
GBPUSD, -0.0308%
was trading at $1.2950, compared with $1.2707.
What drove the market?
European stocks looked to shake off one of their worst monthly declines in years. The Bank of England kept its monetary policy mix unchanged, as expected, but appeared to adopt a more hawkish stance, as the central bank contends with the U.K.’s efforts to exit from the European Union, which could roil markets if a new trade agreement isn’t forged by the time Briton’s bid adieu to the EU in March.
The British pound jumped against the euro and the dollar as investors reacted to a Times of London report that U.K. government sources indicated a tentative Brexit deal had been reached, though EU officials suggested that no definitive deal had been struck.
A swing higher in U.S. stocks also helped to fuel more upbeat sentiment in European bourses after both markets have been buffeted in October by fears about a global slowdown and trade clashes between the U.S. and major global partners, including China and Europe.
Read: Loss of Merkel’s ‘stabilizing force’ could roil European stocks and the euro
What stocks were active?
Shares of ArcelorMittal
AMSYF, -5.98%
rose 0.8% after the steelmaker reported quarterly results.
Shares in Spire Healthcare Group PLC
SPI, +12.44%
surged more than 12.4% on takeover speculation.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV
FCAU, +3.84%
reported a 16% increase in sales to 177,391 units. Its shares rose 1.2%.
Deutsche Bank
DBK, +3.46%
shares jumped 3.5% after reports that an investor friendly to the financiers current slate of management had taken a sizable stake in the embattled bank.
What are strategists saying?
“European markets were in rude health this morning, but now they have handed back their gains, and the FTSE 100 is now in the red. The fact that markets ran out of steam near lunchtime suggests that traders are a little uncertain about the bounce back,” wrote David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets UK, in a note.
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Source : MTV
