LONDON/SYDNEY — Stocks rose and the pound gained on Friday as the prospect of a China-U.S. trade deal and an election victory for Britain's Brexit-backing Conservative Party cleared two of the darkest clouds on the global investment horizon. The double dose of relief undercut safe-haven sovereign bonds and the Japanese yen and led markets to scale back expectations of more interest rates cuts around the world. "Global investors have been given two of the biggest gifts on their Christmas list and should be appreciative for a while at least," said Sean Callow, a senior forex analyst at Westpac. "Global equity indices such as MSCI World should set more record highs and sterling could push above $1.36." The pound reached its highest since mid-2018 as exit polls and then UK election results wiped out any chance of a victory by the left-wing Labour opposition or a hung parliament, which had been a worry for investors.

Source: International New York Times December 13, 2019 07:52 UTC