FTSE dollar higher in early trade

Fiona Cincotta
By :  ,  Senior Market Analyst
The markets are now rife with expectations that the Fed will imminently cut interest rates to the point that any comment from the Fed’s central bankers is being filtered that way, irrespective of if it was really meant in this context. This is what happened with a sideways comment by a Fed official which then boosted Asian markets and helped European gauges open higher.

Nevertheless, European investors took the comment and ran with it, being in need of positive news after the recent set of European corporate earnings which were mostly underwhelming. The FTSE gained 0.63%, with miners, oil firms and travel expert TUI leading the charge higher and the DAX traded 0.9% up.  

Further help for European shares came from the unexpectedly strong earnings from Microsoft which helped improve investors’ risk appetite.

Sterling stabilises ahead of final decision on next PM

Having been sliding consistently over the last few weeks the pound now looks as if it has formed a base against the euro and the dollar. The final tally of Conservative party votes on Johnson versus Hunt is due out Tuesday which will provide more clarity for the pound’s next direction.

Brent gains 1.2% as Gulf tensions rise

The tensions in the Persian Gulf are picking up again after the US reportedly shot down an Iranian drone, causing oil prices to spike 1.18%. Brent crude is actually only trading at $62.66 but given that it lost over 7% in the space of last week, this morning’s recovery looks more pronounced than it probably is.
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