AFP, London :
A weaker pound pushed stocks higher in London Tuesday, while investors also mulled Brexit-influenced data, and Bank of England contingency plans ahead of important talks in Brussels.
London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.7 percent, helped by a drop in the pound that lifted share prices of multinationals listed on the benchmark index.
Eurozone indices closed higher as well after dipping in and out of negative territory during the day.
“Stocks continue to shrug off no-deal Brexit worries, as UK and EU negotiations are scheduled in Brussels ahead of the March 29 divorce deadline,” analysts at Charles Schwab wrote.
In New York, trading was subdued at midday with the Dow Jones Industrial Average essentially unchanged.
The British pound retreated as hiring by companies dropped at the fastest pace in seven years amid Brexit uncertainty, though other data showed that output in Britain’s key services sector had risen slightly in February.
The Markit/CIPS services survey rebounded to 51.3 in February from a 29-month low of 50.1 in January.
The data “suggests that at least some of the concern about Brexit’s impact on the economy has been overdone”, noted research group Capital Economics in a client note.
Meanwhile, the EU’s lead Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier met Britain’s negotiating team as both sides sought solutions a few weeks before this month’s looming Brexit deadline.
A weaker pound pushed stocks higher in London Tuesday, while investors also mulled Brexit-influenced data, and Bank of England contingency plans ahead of important talks in Brussels.
London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.7 percent, helped by a drop in the pound that lifted share prices of multinationals listed on the benchmark index.
Eurozone indices closed higher as well after dipping in and out of negative territory during the day.
“Stocks continue to shrug off no-deal Brexit worries, as UK and EU negotiations are scheduled in Brussels ahead of the March 29 divorce deadline,” analysts at Charles Schwab wrote.
In New York, trading was subdued at midday with the Dow Jones Industrial Average essentially unchanged.
The British pound retreated as hiring by companies dropped at the fastest pace in seven years amid Brexit uncertainty, though other data showed that output in Britain’s key services sector had risen slightly in February.
The Markit/CIPS services survey rebounded to 51.3 in February from a 29-month low of 50.1 in January.
The data “suggests that at least some of the concern about Brexit’s impact on the economy has been overdone”, noted research group Capital Economics in a client note.
Meanwhile, the EU’s lead Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier met Britain’s negotiating team as both sides sought solutions a few weeks before this month’s looming Brexit deadline.
