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The Breakfast Briefing: Trade-Talk Progress Lifts Global Stocks
FYI: Global stocks gained Wednesday on a fresh wave of trade optimism, shrugging off a leadership challenge against U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May.
Stocks in Europe opened higher, with the pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 index up 0.5% in the day’s opening minutes, while the British pound edged up 0.5% but remained near its lowest level in 20 months.
The yield on U.K. 10-year government bonds was last 1.20%, having ticked up from 1.18% late Tuesday. Yields rise as prices fall. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index was last up 0.4%, broadly in line with mild gains elsewhere in Europe, while the FTSE 250 was up 0.1%.
Lawmakers in the U.K.’s ruling Conservative party took the steps to initiate a no-confidence vote against embattled Prime Minister Theresa May. Mrs. May on Monday had postponed a parliamentary vote on her Brexit bill, which prompted a new volley of criticism over her handling of the country’s exit from the European Union.
Global trading remained broadly upbeat, with U.S. futures putting the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average on course to rise 0.4% at the open. Regards, Ted
