Even news of €485 million in Euribor scandal charges for Credit Acricole, HSBC and JP Morgan (with all three banks announcing they are going to fight the fines) couldn’t stall the muscular growth seen in the banking sector this morning. The likes of Deutsche Bank, RBS and Barclays were all up between 3% and 4%, while in Italy Monte dei Paschi surged by nearly 9% despite the European Stability Mechanism dismissing claims that Italy had asked it for a €15 billion loan. This in turn saw the DAX and CAC climb 1.4% and 0.9% respectively, taking the former to a 11000-approaching 2016 peak and the latter to a 4700-eyeing 11 month high.
Unlike at the start of the week the FTSE was able to join in with this rally, the UK index rising over 100 points to hit its best price in nearly a month. While the FTSE benefited from the same banking boost seen in the Eurozone, alongside a healthy rebound from its commodity stocks, it also was aided by a sharp downturn from the pound. Falling 0.7% against both the dollar and the euro, sterling suffering after both the UK’s manufacturing and industrial production readings vastly underperformed expectations at -0.9% and -1.3% respectively.
Currently the Dow Jones doesn’t look quite as enthusiastic as its European peers, the index’s futures suggesting very little movement after the bell. That’s fair enough – sitting just above 19250 the Dow effectively remains at an all-time peak, and given that the Federal Reserve is almost certain to raise rates next week it has done well to sustain such heady heights.
