Global stocks regain ground
Global stocks regained ground Monday following a rough ride last week. Dow futures surged nearly 300 points and Nasdaq100 futures also indicated a strong start for Wall Street when U.S. markets open later, with a rebound in oil prices providing some fresh optimism to begin the week.
Gains were seen across Asian and Europe markets. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index was up 1.2% while Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average gained 0.7%.
On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.7%, the S&P 500 index was down 0.7%, at 2,632.56, while the Nasdaq Composite Index retreated 0.5%.
Last week, the Nasdaq tumbled 4.3%, the Dow ended the week 4.4% lower, while the S&P 500 notched a week-on-week decline of 3.8%. It marked the worst Thanksgiving week since 2011 for all three U.S. indexes.
In Europe, reports of a meeting between Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and European Commission President JeanClaude Juncker that could mean an end to a budget standoff between Italy and the EU has provided support for Europe stocks.
Italy’s governing coalition may reduce next year’s budget deficit target to as low as 2 percent of gross domestic product to avoid disciplinary action from Brussels, two government sources said on Monday. The move set off a rally in financial markets but it was unclear if the downward revision would be enough to satisfy the European Commission.
The goal in the draft budget is now 2.4 percent of GDP, much higher than the 0.8 percent set by the previous government, prompting European partners to first threaten a formal rebuke on the 23 October.
U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May also walked away from an EU meeting with approval for her Brexit deal.
Losses for oil prices helped drive stocks lower last week, and the reverse was true for Monday. After losing 7.7% in Friday’s session alone, U.S. crude futures rose 1.6% to $51.20 a barrel, while Brent crude jumped 2% to $60.01 on Monday.
This article was compiled by BOV Asset Management Limited, a member of the BOV Group. BOV Asset Management,TG Complex, Suite 2, Level 3, Brewery Str., Mriehel BKR 3000. Email: infoassetmanagement@bov.com Internet address: www.bovassetmanagement.com. BOV Asset Management is licensed by the MFSA.