Both currencies suffered against the dollar, sterling falling 0.9% and the euro dropping 0.7%. The pound’s woes stem, of course, from Brexit – with a series of Article 50 Bill amendments failing last night, and the IFS issuing an ugly assessment of Britain’s economy, there wasn’t a lot of good news for sterling to cling on to. As for the euro, Draghi’s comments yesterday about the need for stimulus in the Eurozone despite rising inflation, alongside the damage the currency would suffer if Marine Le Pen becomes the next French president, are dragging it lower. Overall if seems that the pound is struggling the most, however, dipping by 0.2% against the euro having been 0.3% up just after the bell.
This was good news for the European indices. The FTSE, always happy when sterling sinks lower, jumped more than half a percent to re-cross 7200, while the DAX and CAC rose a slightly less jubilant 0.3% and 0.1% respectively.
The index-positivity looks likely to extend into the afternoon, with the Dow Jones heading for a 50 point increase when the bell rings on Wall Street. That would place the Dow a smidge over 20100, and well within reach of its all times highs
