Global Stocks Tick Higher Despite Extended Brexit Uncertainty
October 21 2019 - 7:54AM
Dow Jones News
By Caitlin Ostroff
Global stocks edged higher Monday as investors awaited fresh
developments on the U.K.'s divorce from the European Union and
trade talks between China and the U.S.
Futures linked to the S&P 500 index ticked up 0.2% ahead of
more corporate results this week. So far, third-quarter earnings
have beaten analysts' expectations, despite the slowing global
economy.
Shares in Boeing Co. declined 2% premarket trading after The
Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. Congress is ramping up
scrutiny of the plane maker's leaders as new details pointed to
undue management pressure on employees.
In the U.K., the British pound was mostly flat against the
dollar after a critical vote on Prime Minister Boris Johnson's
Brexit deal was delayed, though it ticked past the psychological
barrier of $1.30. The U.K.'s FTSE 100, which tracks companies with
large overseas earnings that benefit from sterling's decline, edged
up 0.2%.
"We're going to have that kind of ebbing and flowing," said
David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets. "It's just going to be
hanging around to find out what's happening."
Optimism that Mr. Johnson will secure lawmakers' backing for his
deal boosted European bonds yield, with the rate on the 10-year
U.K. gilt rising to 0.754% from 0.711% Friday afternoon and the
10-year German bund yielding minus 0.348%, up from minus 0.379% at
the end of last week. The 10-year Italian bond climbed to 0.993%
from 0.926%. Yields rise when prices fall.
The pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.4%, led by
banks and the automotive sector.
In European equity markets, U.K. medical-equipment company Smith
& Nephew fell 8.2% after its chief executive said he would step
down at the end of the month.
Wirecard rose 7% in German trading after the electronics payment
company said it commissioned an auditing firm to look into
allegations made in a report in the Financial Times about its
accounting practices.
Write to Caitlin Ostroff at caitlin.ostroff@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 21, 2019 07:39 ET (11:39 GMT)
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