MW: European stocks jump most in 3 weeks as FBI clears Clinton
European stocks moved sharply higher on Monday as part of a broader global relief rally after the Federal Bureau of Investigation said its fresh review of U.S. presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton’s emails won’t lead to charges.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index SXXP, +1.34% jumped 1.3% to 333.00, on pace for its best session since Oct. 18, according to FactSet data. The index on Friday slumped 0.8%.
All sectors except for the utilities group traded in positive territory as investors welcomed the latest development in U.S. politics ahead of the closely watched presidential election on Tuesday.
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FBI Director James Comey on Sunday said the bureau’s investigation into Democratic candidate Clinton’s emails hasn’t led to any new findings, removing doubts her handling of the emails were a crime.
The move on Sunday was seen as giving a boost to the Clinton campaign, with her lead over Republican nominee Donald Trump expanding slightly.
“In yet another extraordinary twist in what has already been the most dramatic U.S. election campaign ever, the clearing of Clinton has seen confidence return to equity markets and safe havens slump, as the market starts to price in a Hillary victory,” said Rebecca O’Keeffe, head of investment at stockbroker Interactive Investor, in a note.
A win for Democratic nominee Clinton is overall favored by the financial markets as it presents the possibility of more stability for markets compared with a victory for Trump.
“However, while the polls have widened and the expectation is that the U.S. electorate will deliver a Trump defeat, many investors are still sitting on significant levels of cash as the possibility of a surprise Brexit-like result is simply too risky to contemplate,” she added.
The dollar also rallied on Monday, with the ICE Dollar Index DXY, +0.29% rising 0.6% to 97.620. The euro EURUSD, -0.6912% fell to $1.1067 from $1.1142 late Friday.
Read: It’s not the election, but what happens after it, that should have investors worried
Movers: Shares of HSBC Holdings PLC HSBA, +4.86% HSBC, -0.16% 0005, +2.96% leapt 5% after the banking major posted better-than-forecast pretax earnings for the third quarter and a rise in its core capital ratio, a key measure of financial strength. Citigroup analysts upgraded HSBC shares to buy from neutral.
Ryanair Holdings PLC RY4C, +5.26% rallied 5.3% after the budget airline reported an 8% rise in second-quarter profit and initiated another share buyback program.
Snam SpA 81155, -14.80% shares slid 14.7% as the Italian natural-gas infrastructure company spins off its gas distribution subsidiary, Italgas.
Rio Tinto PLC RIO, +3.43% RIO, -1.82% RIO, +1.14% advanced 3.2%. The mining giant said an annual tender of diamonds from its Argyle mine in Western Australia received the highest average price per carat since the tender began in 1984.
Indexes: The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index UKX, +1.55% added 1.5% to 6,791.10, boosted by HSBC’s rally.
Germany’s DAX 30 index DAX, +1.66% gained 1.7% to 10,431.26 and France’s CAC 40 index PX1, +1.79% put on 1.8% to 4,457.89. Italy’s FTSE MIB I945, +2.10% bounced up 2.1% to 16,664.78.
See: These 5 charts show the global relief rally after FBI clears Clinton — again
Economic news: Manufacturing orders in Germany fell 0.6% in September, missing forecasts of a small gain.
Eurozone retail sales fell a seasonally adjusted 0.2% in September on a month-over-month basis and rose 1.1% from the year-ago period, said Eurostat. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected a monthly fall of 0.3% and a 1.3% rise on a year-over-year basis.
