Global stocks jump after Pelosi sets Tuesday deadline for US stimulus vote; China posts strong economic data

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Global stocks jump after Pelosi sets Tuesday deadline for US stimulus vote; China posts strong economic data
Reuters / Richard Drew
  • Global stocks jumped on Monday, after Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi set an end-Tuesday deadline to reach an agreement on the US coronavirus stimulus plan.
  • China posted a 4.9% expansion in third-quarter GDP, falling short of the 5.5% estimate analysts had predicted.
  • Data from the world's second-largest economy beat expectations, as retail sales jumped 3.3% year-on-year, proving that consumers are shaking off coronavirus-related caution.
  • London's benchmark FTSE 100 rose 0.4% as Britain said the door is still "ajar" for talks with the European Union over a post-Brexit trade deal.
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Global stocks jumped on Monday after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi set a 48-hour deadline for Congress to strike a deal on the upcoming coronavirus stimulus package.

US futures rose after Pelosi said in an interview on ABC's "This Week" that she was "optimistic" over stimulus negotiations. The California Democrat said while there have been specific disagreements over the language used in the bill, both parties have made progress.

Futures on the Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq rose between 0.3% and 0.7%.

Shares in Asia advanced after China reported a 4.9% expansion in its third-quarter gross domestic product. China's benchmark Shanghai Composite index retreated 0.7% since the GDP data fell short of the 5.5% expansion analysts had estimated.

China's numbers grew mainly due to contributions from within the economy, although the export market did not recover as fast, according to Iris Pang, chief economist at ING.

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However, overall data proved a boost to the stock market. Chinese retail sales jumped 3.3% year-on-year in September, from only 0.5% in August, proving consumption has further stabilized from more business spending, Pang said. Asia Pacific's broadest MSCI index outside Japan rose 0.2%.

Elsewhere in Asia, Japan's Nikkei rose 1.1% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.4% at the close.

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In Europe, benchmark indices rose, swept higher by investor optimism over a deal on more stimulus for the US economy and over the resilience of the Chinese economic recovery, both of which overshadowed record rises in daily numbers of new COVID-19 cases in a number of countries.

The US, France, UK, Poland, and Belgium all logged record numbers of new cases this week, ahead of the added pressure of winter, which could weaken immune systems and potentially fuel new infections.

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London's benchmark FTSE 100 index rose 0.4%, after the British government said the door is still "ajar" in case the European Union wished to make small concessions to save Brexit trade talks. A no-deal outcome, which is likely if the bloc does not budge, would lead to tariffs on goods and an array of new checks at Britain's border with the EU.

Germany's DAX rose 0.4% and the Euro Stoxx 50 rose 0.7% as European markets took "a fairly gentle stroll into the green as the week got underway," said Connor Campbell, a financial analyst at SpreadEx.

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