European markets were rising Monday, reflecting investors’ confidence after U.S. President Donald Trump relented and signed a $900 billion economic stimulus package he had seemed to oppose.
France’s benchmark CAC-40 was 1.1% higher at the midday trading mark, while the DAX index in Germany surged 1.4%. Britain’s FTSE index is closed for the nation’s Boxing Day holiday.
Trading was also robust in the Asia-Pacific region earlier Monday. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei index finished 0.7% higher. The S&P/ASX index in Australia was up 0.3%. Taiwan’s TSEC index gained a full one percent, while the Sensex in Mumbai finished 0.8% higher.
Shanghai’s Composite earned nearly three-quarters of one point, but was unchanged percentage-wise (+0.02). South Korea’s KOSPI index was also unchanged (+0.06) after earning 1.74 points.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index closed 0.2% lower.
The $900 billion measure President Trump signed into law Sunday night includes an additional $300 in weekly jobless benefits, and $600 in direct payments to millions of individual Americans. The measure is part of a larger package that funds the federal government through September.
In commodities trading, gold was selling at $1,880.30, down 0.1%. U.S. crude oil was selling at $48.67 per barrel, up 0.9%, and Brent crude oil rose 0.8%, selling at $51.73 per barrel.
All three major U.S. indices were trending positively in futures trading as Wall Street prepared to return to trading after the Christmas holiday.
