The FTSE-100 has surged higher at the open with traders breathing a collective sigh of relief over the FBI’s second dismissal of the investigation into Hilary Clinton’s use of a private e-mail server.
By Tony Cross, Monk Communications
With the bitterly contested Presidential election taking place tomorrow, markets are going to remain transfixed on this event and we still can’t be ruling out a shock win for Donald Trump – something that would once again plunge global markets into at least a brief bout of chaos as attempts were made to understand just what the ‘new-order’ would look like – but at least for now, that risk is being played down.
In line with the corresponding risk-on mentality that’s emerging, gold prices are off and this is dragging down the precious metals miners with Randgold Resources and Fresnillo being two of only six stocks in negative territory a few minutes into the day’s trade. Base metals miners including Rio Tinto and Anglo American are faring well on the back of the idea that the status quo may be maintained – and their heavy weighting again bodes well for the fortunes of the FTSE-100 – but it’s HSBC that’s topping the board. Profits may have tumbled at the bank, but this is largely as a result of a loss that was booked against the sale of a South American unit. More critically, the capital ratio is strong and hopes are running high that this will lead to a dividend hike.
We can expect the next 48 hours to be completely dominated by the Presidential election, but at least given the way the outcome seems set to be, financial markets should have something to cheer rather than commiserate come Wednesday morning.