LONDON – European markets were mixed Friday morning as British and European leaders elicit pessimistic tones about the prospect of agreeing to a post-Brexit trade deal.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 floated on either side of the flatline in early trading, with travel and leisure stocks down 0.8%, while basic resources added 0.7%.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday that the talks were in a “dire situation” and that a deal is unlikely unless the EU is willing to change its stance on fisheries, a long-standing spanner in the works.
The comments came after a phone call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who also said reaching an agreement would now be “very challenging” with two weeks left before the UK leaves the EU job.
European equities are poised for a mixed transfer from Asia-Pacific, as investors are responding to the Bank of Japan’s announcement to extend its special program by six months to ease corporate funding pressures during the coronavirus pandemic. The interest rate target on the 10-year Japanese government bond was set at around 0%, while the short-term interest rate target was -0.1%.
In the United States, US futures are pointing to a lower open Friday after all three major indices closed at record highs in the previous session, fueled by Covid-19 vaccine developments and hopes for a consensus in Washington on additional fiscal stimulus.
An influential advisory panel from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday overwhelmingly approved Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine for emergency use, an important step toward the distribution of the second Covid-19 vaccine in the United States following week after the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is already approved.
Meanwhile, lawmakers on Capitol Hill said they are close to an agreement that would bring in $ 900 billion in additional aid.
As for the data, UK consumer confidence saw its sharpest rise in eight years in December, with a survey released Friday by market research firm GfK, which jumped from -33 to -26 in November from -33 in November, as the country lifted it. sentiment.
Germany’s closely watched Ifo business climate survey for December will be published at 9am London time.
There were no major price movements in early trading. The UK payment solutions network fell 3.3% to the lower end of the Stoxx 600, while on the other side of the index, pharmaceutical company Hikma climbed 4.2%.
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