Despite the World Health Organisation downplaying reports of a coronavirus treatment coming out of Chinese media, investors couldn’t resist the temptation to keep the market rebound going.
While the NASDAQ hit a fresh all-time high, the Dow Jones added 260 points, crossing 29000 for the first time in a week and a half. Echoing those gains, the DAX rose 1.3%, with the CAC nearing 6000 as it reclaimed another 0.9%.
Interestingly the FTSE couldn’t keep up the pace with its Eurozone and US peers, instead rising just 0.6%. What made the UK index’s performance especially curious was that the pound was down 0.4% against the dollar and 0.1% against the euro.
Sterling reversed its post-service PMI gains following reports that the EU could amend its Mifid II financial regulations to remove the concessions originally granted to the UK when the rules were first put into place. That would, presumably, be in order to combat the fact the continent’s biggest financial market – London – not sits outside the European Union.
It also didn’t help the FTSE that Imperial Brands (LON:IMB) was down close to 8%, after issuing a profit warning related to the crackdown on vaping.
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