Major European stockmarkets have all moved higher in early trading as yesterday’s quantitative easing announcement from the European Central Bank (ECB) continues to have a positive effect.
Germany’s Dax index led the charge gaining 1.53 per cent at 8.32am while France’s Cac 40 index moved up 1.37 per cent. The FTSE EuroFirst 300 index also gained 1.37 per cent and the FTSE 100 index lagged slightly with a move of just 0.53 per cent.
Overseas markets also responded well to the announcement with the S&P 500 index gaining 1.53 per cent and the Dow Jones climbing 1.48 per cent, while the Nikkei index in Japan closed 1.05 per cent higher and the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong gained 1.34 per cent.
The ECB yesterday announced a quantitative easing programme of €60bn (£49.51bn) of asset purchases a month starting in March and expected to last until May 2016.
Meanwhile the price of Brent Crude oil has gained 2.04 per cent as of 8.44am, which follows the news of the death of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.
