Stocks Rise as Wall Street Prepares to Set New Records – Europe Market Wrap
| Global shares surged, with US futures pointing to another Wall Street record, as investors bet on lower interest rates and a solid earnings season. The STOXX 600 index in Europe increased by 0.5%, with banking, real estate, and technology stocks leading the way. Futures contracts on the Nasdaq 100 index increased by 0.6%, while those on the S&P 500 increased by 0.3%, as the latter became the last of the three major US equity benchmarks to reach a record closing high. During the most current earnings season, the majority of S&P 500 companies’ results surprised positively, and equity markets have shrugged off January’s rise in bond yields on optimism about the US economy’s resilience, conviction that central banks will begin cutting interest rates later this year, and signs that the AI boom will continue. Investors are looking ahead to the Bank of Japan’s meeting on Tuesday and the European Central Bank’s meeting on Thursday, both of which are expected to leave their policy settings intact. The US fourth-quarter GDP report on Thursday could provide indications on when the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates. |
