Renewed U.S. stimulus prospects improves market sentiment

The possibility of renewed U.S. stimulus improved global investor sentiment, steering markets to what is set to be an explosive fourth quarter on Thursday. However, an all-day outage in the Tokyo Stock Exchange gave the month a rocky start.

Europe’s STOXX 600 index gained 0.7% ahead of PMI economic data, which is expected to show signs of the region’s slow recovery from the COVID-19 crisis.

The Dollar fell to a one-week low, as stronger U.S. data on Wednesday as well as hopes for U.S. fiscal stimulus led investors to riskier currencies. Meanwhile, S&P 500 futures saw a rise of 0.4%.

The British Pound Sterling <gbp=>slipped by 0.6% after British and European Union negotiators failed to close in on a decision over stimulus aid in their latest round of talks.

The Euro gained 0.1%, trading at $1.1756, while the Australian Dollar inched up by 0.2% to $0.7181.</aud=d4>

In commodities, oil prices were subdued after their 10% drop in September, with U.S. crude futures at $39.91 per barrel and Brent futures at $42.33 a barrel.

Despite the marginal gains, Chris Dyer, Eaton Vance’s director of global equity regarded it as a calm before the storm with the U.S. elections, the race for a COVID-19 vaccine, and a no-deal Brexit deadline looming in the backdrop.