Europe open: Stocks push higher on dovish Brainard comments
European stocks edged higher in early trade, recovering from the previous session’s losses and taking their cue from a positive close on Wall Street following dovish comments by Federal Reserve governor Lael Brainard.
At 0840 BST, the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 index and France’s CAC 40 were up 0.4%, while Germany’s DAX was 0.5% higher.
At the same time, oil prices retreated. West Texas Intermediate was down 1.7% to $45.52 a barrel while Brent crude was off 1.4% at $47.64.
Stocks in the US ended higher on Monday on the back of a dovish speech by Federal Reserve governor Lael Brainard, who said at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs that although economic progress is being made, it would be wise for the Fed to keep monetary policy loose.
In addition, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari told CNBC that policy makers should take their time to when it comes to making a decision on rates.
Andy McLevey, head of dealing at stockbroker Interactive Investor, said: “European markets have opened tentatively higher in early trading aided by the recovery on Wall Street and in Asia overnight as Federal Reserve governor Lael Brainard maintained a dovish stance on any potential rate rise providing welcome relief to markets.
“With a number of dissenting voices however the future is still unclear and it remains to be seen if investors have the desire to push markets higher amid the backdrop of political and economic uncertainty. With the volatility of late set to continue this may throw up trading opportunities at stock level for the shrewd investor.”
On the corporate front, Swiss global private markets investment management company Partners Group rallied following well-received interim results.
On the downside, UK online grocer Ocado was under the cosh after it reported a jump in quarterly retail sales but cautioned over margin pressure.
Still to come on the economic calendar, the Germany ZEW survey is at 1000 BST.