By Peter Nurse
Investing.com - European stock markets edged higher Friday, as investors look for more stimulus, despite conflicting reports in the U.S., as the surge in the number of coronavirus cases threatens the global economic recovery.
At 4 AM ET (0900 GMT), the DAX in Germany traded 0.2% higher, the CAC 40 in France rose 0.3%, while the U.K.'s FTSE index climbed 0.4%.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced plans late Thursday to let several of the Federal Reserve’s emergency lending programs expire on December 31, seeking the re-appropriation of some $455 billion allocated earlier in the year.
While this was the first serious sign of discord between the Treasury and the Federal Reserve during the Covid-19 pandemic, investors have reacted calmly, seeing the move as politicking with the programs likely to be restored under the new administration.
Helping the tone was the news overnight that Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had agreed to revive talks to craft a new fiscal relief package.
Back in Europe, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde promised a forceful monetary stimulus package for December, while speaking to a European Parliament committee Thursday.
Additional aid is needed as the surge in coronavirus cases throughout Europe and the U.S. has resulted in the imposition of many new restrictions. Although Britain’s health minister said there were encouraging signs that the virus curve is starting to flatten, in the U.S. the state of California has just imposed a new curfew to curb the increase in infections and the Center for Disease Control urged Americans not to travel over the Thanksgiving holiday.
There was also some positive economic news Friday, as U.K. retail sales climbed 1.2% in October on the month, the country’s consumers proving more resilient than expected.
In corporate news, Sage (LON:SGE) stock fell over 10% after the U.K.-based software company’s profit dipped following a Cloud investment, while AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) stock climbed 1% after the pharma giant’s cancer treatment Imfinzi got U.S. approval for less frequent, fixed-dose usage.
Oil prices edged higher Friday, continuing a largely positive week on growing hopes that OPEC+ producers will freeze their output at current levels for at least another three months when they meet at the end of November.
U.S. crude futures traded 0.4% higher at $42.07 a barrel, while the international benchmark Brent contract rose 0.5% to $44.42 a barrel, both remaining well above the $40 mark after the gains earlier in the week on the back of vaccine optimism.
Elsewhere, gold futures rose 0.3% to $1,866.90/oz, while EUR/USD traded 0.1% lower at 1.1863.