Global stocks nudged up to a record high on the MSCI World Index, on Wednesday, October 11, after Spanish shares rallied on Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont’s more moderate stance and the Nikkei 225 hit its highest level in 16 years.
The relief rally in Madrid helped the IBEX 35 jump 1.3pc while Spanish government bond yields dropped with the 10-year note pulling back 5.2 basis points to 1.62pc.
Elsewhere, the FTSE 100 nudged down into the red on a quiet day for the rest of the markets with packaging giant Mondi plunging nearly 8pc after issuing a profit warning as cost pressures begin to take their toll.
Attention has now turned back to the US with minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting set to provide investors with a few more clues on the central bank’s plans to hike rates before the end of the year.
The FTSE 100, Dow Jones, S&P 500, DAX and crude prices are all bobbing around flat territory with the cooling tensions in Spain providing the only semblance of volatility as investors pile back into stocks in Madrid and the euro.
Sterling is having a poor day on the currency markets as the rally on Theresa May steadying her position at Number 10 fizzles out, dropping 0.2pc against the dollar to $1.3288, where it has spent the majority of today’s session.
Analyst Connor Campbell is not having much fun at Spreadex towers. Here’s his take on how events in Spain are affecting the markets:
“On a day suffocating in its dullness the euro remained the only real point of interesting following the latest developments between the Spanish government and Catalonia.
