Strong Wall Street close set to lift Europe

OPTIMISM over a possible breakthrough in US debt ceiling talks is keeping up in early European hours on Thursday following a strong close for Wall Street the day before and overnight gains across Asian markets.

Futures on the region-wide EuroSTOXX50 and London’s FTSE 100 were both up around 0.5%, while US equity futures pointed to a more subdued open following the rally the day before. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares pushed 0.8% higher.

Switzerland and Scandinavian markets are closed for holiday, and that could reduce activity.

In corporate news, Deutsche Bank agreed to pay USD 75 million to settle a lawsuit by women who say they were abused by the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, and accused the German bank of facilitating his sex trafficking.

Burberry reported a 16% rise in Q4 comparable store sales, boosted by a rebound in its largest market China following three years of COVID-19 restrictions.

Royal Mail posted an annual adjusted operating loss of 419 million pounds, beating market expectations, while BT Group announced up to 55,000 jobs cuts after it met market expectations with a 5% rise in full-year adjusted core earnings.

(Danilo Masoni)