World stocks rose as a breakthrough in Brexit negotiations added momentum to an upswing underpinned by strong economic news from China and Japan.
Britain and the European Union struck a deal on Friday to move on to talk about trade and a transition period after they agreed the outline of their divorce. Shares across the continent surged on the news, and even Britain’s FTSE 100 Index , which tends to move inversely with sterling, was higher through the day despite an early rally for the British currency, Reuters reported.
Sterling was up nearly half a percent against the euro at one stage. And though the rally lost steam as the session wore on, it was still close to a six-month high against the single currency hit earlier in the session.
The pan-European share index rose 0.8%, pushing the MSCI world equity index , which tracks shares in 47 countries, up 0.2%.
Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.1% to 7,327.24 while Germany’s DAX added 1.1% to 13,193.05 and the CAC 40 of France rose 0.7% to 5,418.64. S&P 500 futures rose 0.2% and Dow futures were up 0.1%, pointing to gains on Wall Street.
The dollar rose 0.2% against a trade-weighted basket of its rivals on Friday and was on track for its biggest weekly rise in nearly six weeks after a potential government shutdown this weekend was averted. Attention is likely to turn to US jobs numbers due out later on Friday, particularly with a key Federal Reserve meeting due next week.
Earlier on Friday, Asian shares rallied for a second session in a row as economic news from China and Japan beat all expectations. Beijing reported exports surged 12.3% in November from a year earlier, more than double the forecast, while imports climbed almost 18%. Iron ore and copper imports enjoyed a stellar rebound, which could help stem a recent pullback in commodity prices.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 1.4% to 22,811.08, while South Korea’s Kospi eked out a 0.1% gain to 2,464.00. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.2% to 28,639.85 and the Shanghai Composite in China added 0.6% to 3,289.99. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.3% to 5,994.40. Shares in Southeast Asia also gained, AP reported.
Gold inched higher to $1,247.40 , having this week breached its recent tight trading range to hit a four-month trough at $1,245.60.
