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The one constant throughout the coronavirus crisis has been the willingness of the Federal Reserve and other central banks to stand behind markets. They were at it again last night in Washington DC, with minutes from the latest monetary policy meeting giving the soothing message that support is here to stay.
Stock markets in Europe rose on Thursday in early trading after the Fed said it expected to keep loose monetary policy for 'some time' until conditions improve sufficiently. The FTSE rose by 0.3% in opening trades on Thursday morning, while the Stoxx 600 index of big European companies gained 0.4%.
Lael Brainard, a Fed governor, told CNBC that policymakers expect 'considerably better outcomes on growth, and employment and inflation' in coming months.
Markets have appeared to shrug off the latest concerns over the AstraZeneca vaccine. UK regulators recommended not giving that particular vaccine to the under-30s because of a risk - albeit vanishingly rare - of blood clots.
This morning in the UK online clothing retailer Asos has delivered a 253% increase in profits thanks in part to a net benefit from Covid.
Miner Anglo American has said it will de-merge its South African thermal coal operations.
The agenda
• 8:30am BST: Eurozone PMI survey (March)
• 9:30am BST: UK construction PMI survey (March)
• 12:30pm BST: ECB monetary policy meeting account
• 1:30pm BST: US initial jobless claims (week of 3 April)
We’ll be tracking all the main events throughout the day ... |
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