European stock markets stabilized on Thursday following solid gains in Asia, as investors increasingly anticipate the US Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next month. The expectation of a rate cut has been reinforced by comments from Fed officials and a series of weak US jobs reports. Markets are now pricing in around an 80% chance of a cut on December 10 and a further three next year.
Wall Street was closed for the Thanksgiving holiday, but European markets digested the UK government’s tax-raising budget unveiled on Wednesday. The measures reassured markets, with UK government bond yields and the pound remaining steady. London’s FTSE 100 dipped 0.2% to 9,673.21 points, while Paris’s CAC 40 was flat at 8,096.43 and Frankfurt’s DAX edged up 0.2% to 23,781.52.
In Asia, Tokyo led the way with a 1.2% gain to 50,167.10, while Hong Kong and Shanghai also closed higher. The cryptocurrency market saw bitcoin rise above $90,000 on Thursday, after recently plunging to a seven-month low of just above $80,000. However, it remains off its record high above $126,200 touched in early October.
The suspension of deposits and withdrawals by South Korea’s biggest crypto exchange, Upbit, due to an unauthorized transfer of about $37 million of digital assets, also made headlines. The announcement came as its parent company, Dunamu, is set to be bought by Naver Financial in a deal valued at over $13 billion.
Key figures at around 1100 GMT included the euro trading down at $1.1588, the pound down at $1.3228, and the dollar down at 156.27 yen. Brent North Sea Crude was down 0.2% at $62.68 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate was down 0.3% at $58.85 per barrel. As markets continue to monitor the situation, investors will be watching for further developments and their potential impact on the global economy.
