International News

LONDON, (MILLAT+APP/AFP) – European stock markets
rallied Monday and the dollar surged to multi-month highs, with traders shrugging off concerns over the Trump presidency and weak Chinese economic data.
In foreign exchange, the euro struck a ten-month low at $1.0728,
while the dollar reached also a five-month peak versus the yen.
“European shares are trading higher… despite disappointing Chinese
industrial production and retail sales data,” said Markus Huber, a trader at
City of London Markets.
“It appears that the fact that president-elect Trump might not be
quite as radical and confrontational as some had feared and therefore generally less uncertainty making the rounds is pushing stocks higher for now.”
Equities around the world have seen volatile trading since the
tycoon’s shock election win last week, with his pledge of big-spending measures and tax cuts leading to predictions of a surge in inflation and higher borrowing costs.
The prospect of better and safer returns in the US has also led to an
exodus from emerging markets and currencies, while the Mexican peso has hit
record dollar-lows owing to concerns about Trump’s warning he will tear up a
key trade deal.
Around 1030 GMT, London’s benchmark FTSE 100 was 1.1-percent higher
compared with the close on Friday. Frankfurt’s DAX 30 jumped 0.9 percent and
the Paris CAC 40 rallied 1.2 percent.