European stock markets advanced yesterday following the festive break and a mixed showing across Asia. The pound gained against the dollar and euro, as European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen expressed “serious concern” on whether the bloc can conclude a post-Brexit trade deal with Britain by the end of the next year.
London’s blue chip FTSE 100 ended the day up 0.2%, Frankfurt’s DAX 30 rose 0.3% and the CAC 40 in Paris edged 0.1% higher.
Asian stock markets closed mixed, with Hong Kong the major winner, adding 1.3%.
Elsewhere yesterday, both main oil contracts climbed on US-China trade hopes and sustained demand, analysts said.
“Optimism about trade helped the outlook for global growth and with it the demand for oil while the US consumer is showing few signs of tightening their purse strings, which is positive for oil also,” added analyst Innes.
Asian stock markets closed mixed following another strong lead from Wall Street where tech stocks won big with strong Christmas results.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq finished above 9,000 points for the first time on Thursday, hitting its 10th straight record fuelled by gains by e-commerce behemoth Amazon and other tech giants.
The Dow and the S&P 500 also closed higher.
Hong Kong was the major winner in Asia after the strong overnight cue, putting on 1.3%.
A report by Mastercard Spending Plus estimated that US holiday shopping sales rose by a better-than-expected 3.4% this year, with e-commerce taking a bigger bite of overall sales.
US consumers’ “willingness to open the purse strings has offset declining business investment in the face of the Trade war and economic uncertainty”, said Stephen Innes, chief Asia market strategist at AxiTrader.
Amazon shares jumped 4.5% after boasting of another “record” performance this season.
Other tech giants including Apple, Google parent Alphabet and Facebook all gained at least 1%.
The holiday spending results added to the positive sentiment across trading floors following the US-China trade thaw, and the expectation that the “phase one” deal between Washington and Beijing will be finalised next month.
Markets have been spooked since US President Donald Trump launched his trade war against China, and analysts have voiced fears about the impact of the bruising spat on global economic growth.
Sentiment on Thursday was boosted by a report by Mastercard Spending Plus estimating that US holiday shopping sales rose by a better-than-expected this year, with e-commerce taking a bigger bite of overall sales.
“Trade optimism remains a key support for the markets, along with some signs that global economic growth may be stabilising, buoyed by today’s upbeat Chinese industrial profits report,” said analysts at Charles Schwab brokerage.
In London, the FTSE 100 closed up 0.2% to 7,644.90 points; Frankfurt — DAX 30 ended up 0.3% to 13,337.11 points and Paris — CAC 40 closed up 0.1% to 6,037.39 points yesterday.
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