European stock markets steadied on Thursday after strong gains in Asia, as investors grew more confident that the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next month. This expectation has been bolstered by comments from Fed officials and a series of weak U.S. jobs reports. Markets are now pricing in roughly an 80 % chance of a rate cut on December 10, with three additional cuts anticipated next year.
Wall Street was closed for the Thanksgiving holiday, but European markets absorbed the U.K. government’s tax‑raising budget unveiled on Wednesday. The measures reassured investors, leaving U.K. government bond yields and the pound largely unchanged. London’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.2 % to 9,673.21 points, 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 rally 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 after recently falling to a seven‑month low of just over $80,000, though it remains well below its record high of $126,200 reached in early October. South Korea’s largest crypto exchange, Upbit, suspended deposits and withdrawals after an unauthorized transfer of about $37 million in digital assets. The announcement came as Upbit’s parent, Dunamu, is set to be acquired by Naver Financial in a deal valued at over $13 billion.
Key figures around 1100 GMT showed the euro at $1.1588, the pound at $1.3228, and the dollar at 156.27 yen. Brent North Sea Crude fell 0.2 % to $62.68 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate dropped 0.3 % to $58.85 per barrel. As markets continue to monitor these developments, investors will be watching for further news and its potential impact on the global economy.
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