Among the more notable movers on Thursday, Japanese and South Korean equities outperformed their regional peers, with tech shares leading gains in both markets. In Europe, Germany’s DAX index rose 0.3 per cent as Puma SE jumped 16 per cent on takeover interest from multiple bidders.
Loading
UK gilts gave back some of Wednesday’s rally that followed the Autumn budget. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves carved out a larger fiscal buffer, which buoyed sentiment, even though the tax-raising steps required cast a shadow over the outlook for economic growth. The pound and FTSE 100 were little changed.
“All told, we think the UK government did what it needed to do to keep UK bond markets on side,” wrote Bill Diviney, head of macro research at ABN AMRO. “While there is naturally some risk to this more backloaded fiscal consolidation round, it comes on top of an already considerable effort.”
Oil fluctuated after Russian President Vladimir Putin said that US proposals for ending the war in Ukraine could be the basis for future agreements, although no final draft exists yet. Platinum touched its highest level in more than a month, supported by optimism over fresh demand after a Chinese exchange launched a new futures contract.
