LONDON – European markets mixed on Friday morning as British and European leaders pessimistic tones about the prospect of a post-Brexit trade deal.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 stood on both sides of the flat line during early business, with travel and leisure stocks slipping 0.8%, while basic resources added 0.7%.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday that talks were in a “serious situation” and that an agreement was unlikely unless the EU was willing to change its position on fisheries, a key long-standing tradition. in the works.
The statements came after a call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who also said reaching an agreement would now be “very difficult”, with two weeks to go before the UK leaves. ‘orbit of the EU.
European actions are planned for a mixed transfer from Asia-Pacific, where investors are reacting to the Bank of Japan’s announcement of a six-month extension of its special program aimed at easing corporate financing pressures amid the coronavirus pandemic. The ten-year Japanese government debt yield target was set at around 0%, while the short-term interest rate target was set at -0.1%.
State and U.S. futures point to a lower open Friday after the top three indexes closed the previous session at record highs, fueled by the evolution of the Covid-19 vaccine and the hope of a consensus in Washington on stimulus additional taxes.
An influential U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel overwhelmingly approved Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine for emergency use on Thursday, a key step toward the distribution of the second Covid vaccine -19 in the United States next week, as the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been eliminated.
Meanwhile, Capitol Hill lawmakers said they are approaching an agreement that would provide $ 900 billion in additional aid.
In terms of data, UK consumer confidence rose the most in eight years in December, with a survey released on Friday by market research firm GfK rising to -26 from -33 in November, as the launch of the first vaccine program against Covid-19 in the country raised sentiment.
The Ifo business climate survey, closely monitored by Germany in December, will be published at 9am London time.
There were no major changes in stock prices in the early trades. The British payment solutions company Network International fell 3.3% to the end of the Stoxx 600, while at the other end of the index, the pharmaceutical company Hikma rose 4.2%.
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