Zero Hedge
November 1, 2018
After a torrid rally in the last two days of a brutal October helped offset some of the losses in the worst month for global equities in more than six years, world markets started off November in a sea of green with gains in Asian and European markets, and S&P futures pointed to a higher open buoyed by upbeat earnings and hope that today’s Apple earnings will ease more “growth” and tech stock concerns, while sterling rallied on reports that Britain and the European Union are close to a post-Brexit deal on financial services, even though a government official has since denied the report.
After October’s drubbing which saw global markets drop 7.5%, their worst month since May 2012, as shares took a battering on a number of factors ranging from trade wars to concerns about the global economy and higher U.S. interest rates, the MSCI All-Country World Index was up 0.3% on the first day of November. The recent rally has helped the S&P rise above its long-term uptrend.
Futures on the S&P 500 jumped after the European open, having traded mixed for much of the overnight session, and rising 0.6% as of 7am ET.
European markets followed a strong start in Asia, with robust company earnings helping the pan-European STOXX 600 index hit a two-week high with miners and carmakers leading the way higher. And while strong results from the likes of ING Groep helped push European banking shares higher, not all the news was positive, with Royal Dutch Shell falling after profit fell short of expectations. At the same time, Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.1% as the pound strengthened on a report – since denied – that Britain and the EU are close to a deal that would give financial services firms in the UK continued access to European markets once Brexit happens.
- A d v e r t i s e m e n t
Earlier in the session, Asian shares also posted advances with MSCI’s index of…