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Investing.com – European stock markets edged higher Thursday with Remy Cointreau starring, while investors digested the formation of a new governing coalition in Germany as well as the region’s ongoing Covid-19 crisis.
At 3:45 AM ET (0845 GMT), the DAX in Germany traded 0.3% higher, the CAC 40 in France also rose 0.3% and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 climbed 0.1%.
After two months of negotiations, the Social Democrats, the Greens and the Free Democrats agreed a coalition deal on Wednesday that will result in Olaf Scholz of the Social Democrats replacing Angela Merkel as German chancellor after 16 years.
The coalition is seen promoting more public investment to speed up the shift towards a green economy, but its first priority is likely to be attempting to control the coronavirus pandemic which has returned to the continent in force.
Scholz said Wednesday that vaccinations are to be made compulsory for targeted groups, but further measures may be needed to tackle the surge in cases.
Italy announced new restrictions late Wednesday, and both the Netherlands and France are expected to reveal new measures on Friday. Austria implemented a national lockdown at the start of this week.
Gross domestic product in Germany, Europe’s largest economy, grew by 1.7% quarter-on-quarter in the third quarter, a downgrade from the flash estimate of 1.8% published last month, and marked a slowdown from the upwardly revised expansion of 2% in the second quarter.
Additionally, the country’s GfK consumer sentiment fell to -1.6 in December, from the previous month’s revised 1.0, as the rising number of Covid cases weighed on confidence.
In the corporate sector, Remy Cointreau (PA:RCOP) stock soared over 9% after the drinks group raised its full year profit outlook after reporting a hefty jump in first-half operating profit, driven by strong demand for its premium cognac.
Crude prices stagnated Thursday with investors looking towards next week’s OPEC+ meeting for a reaction to the coordinated release of oil from government reserves by a number of major consumers, led by the United States.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and allies, a group known as OPEC+, has been adding 400,000 barrels per day of supply to the global market since August, and meets on Dec. 2 to decide whether or not to continue in this vein.
By 3:45 AM ET, U.S. crude futures traded 0.2% lower at $78.25 a barrel, while the Brent contract traded flat at $82.25.
Additionally, gold futures rose 0.6% to $1,794.80/oz, while EUR/USD traded 0.2% higher at 1.1219.
