London (AFP) – Stocks rose Monday on both sides of the Atlantic as traders welcomed Donald Trump’s pick for Treasury secretary, seen as a steady hand with ambitious goals to spur growth in the world’s biggest economy. The nomination of billionaire investor Scott Bessent also pushed down the dollar, on hopes he would pursue lower inflation that would limit the Federal Reserve’s need to keep interest rates high. A widely respected figure on Wall Street, Bessent is seen as being in favour of growth and deficit reduction policies, analysts say.
“Known for his moderate stance on tariffs, Bessent is seen as a steady hand, likely to bring more stability to the US economy and financial markets,” said Fawad Razaqzada, an analyst at Forex.com. But gains were limited in Europe as growth concerns returned to the fore with Germany’s Thyssenkrupp announcing plans to cut or outsource 11,000 jobs in its languishing steel division.
And bitcoin’s push toward $100,000 ran out of steam after coming within a whisker of the mark last week, on hopes that Trump will enact policies to bring the cryptocurrency more into the mainstream. Bitcoin was trading at around $96,400, having set a record high of $99,728.34 Friday — the digital currency has soared about 50 percent in value since Trump’s election.
The stock gains came before key US data over coming days that could provide fresh clues about the Federal Reserve’s plans for interest rates. This week sees the Fed’s preferred gauge of inflation and minutes from the bank’s most recent policy meeting, along with data on economic growth and jobless claims.
Oil prices dipped after a recent run-up fuelled by concerns over Israel’s wars with Hamas and Hezbollah. Support had come also from the strike by major fossil-fuel producer Russia against Ukraine with a new-generation intermediate-range missile last week, and a threat that Moscow could target any country providing weapons to Kyiv.
– Key figures around 1450 GMT –
New York – Dow: UP 1.1 percent at 44,765.26
New York – S&P 500: UP 0.7 percent at 6,013.39
New York – Nasdaq: UP 0.8 percent at 19,145.90
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 8,297.20 points
Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.2 percent at 7,266.08
Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.5 percent at 19,420.00
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.3 percent at 38,780.14 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.4 percent at 19,150.99 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,263.76 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0511 from $1.0418 on Friday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2588 from $1.2530
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 153.76 yen from 154.83 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 83.50 pence from 83.11 pence
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.4 percent at $70.23 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.5 percent at $73.55 per barrel
© 2024 AFP
