Morning Briefing: Markets welcome new British PM

Markets welcome new British PM...

Steve Randall
Markets welcome new British PM
Markets hate uncertainty and the Brits have been responsible for more than a fair share of it in recent weeks. Late Wednesday though there was at least a glimpse of stability for the EU-leaving nation as new prime minister Theresa May moved took control behind the iconic door of 10 Downing Street; and made a number of key ministerial appointments from both the ‘leave’ and ‘remain’ camps.

Thursday’s session has opened with reaction to a new British finance minister; along with important roles of foreign, trade and “Brexit” secretaries.

Asian markets closed mostly higher, except Shanghai. Tokyo gained strongly again as stimulus is weighed by investors and as the yen hit a three-week low against the US dollar. The Singapore securities exchange was closed early due to a technical issue.

European indexes are up too. There is expectation that the swift appointment of a new PM means the start of the Brexit process will begin sooner rather than later. The new Chancellor of the Exchequer has been quick to praise BoE governor, Canadian Mark Carney.

Carney will later deliver the bank’s monetary policy statement and is widely expected to make a cut to UK interest rates to an historic low of 0.25 per cent. The decision will be announced at 5pm ET.
Wall Street and Toronto are expected to open higher, boosted by world markets.
 
  Latest 1 month ago 1 year ago
 
North America (previous session)
US Dow Jones 18,372.12 (+0.13 per cent) +3.95 per cent +1.76 per cent
TSX Composite 14,493.80 (+0.11 per cent) +4.39 per cent -0.72 per cent
 
Europe (at 4.30am ET)
UK FTSE 6,724.68 (+0.81 per cent) +13.52 per cent -0.43 per cent
German DAX 10,080.74 (+1.51 per cent) +5.90 per cent -12.47 per cent
 
Asia (at close)
China CSI 300 3,276.76 (-0.19 per cent) +6.53 per cent -20.32 per cent
Japan Nikkei 16,385.89 (+0.95 per cent) +3.32 per cent -19.62 per cent
 
Other Data (at 4.30am ET)
Oil (Brent) Oil (WTI) Gold Can. Dollar
46.62
(+0.78 per cent)
45.14
(+0.87 per cent)
1333.90
(-0.72 per cent)
U$0.7733
 
Aus. Dollar
U$0.7635

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