European stocks climbed as markets wrapped up on Monday while the U.S. equity futures also strengthened. This comes as investors await the responses of world leaders to the ongoing energy crisis ahead of the European Central Bank’s policy meeting later this week.
S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 contracts climbed by over 0.8%, while retail and auto stocks led the way on the Stoxx Europe 600 Index. On the flip side, European energy and healthcare stocks largely fell.
With the dollar sinking, the pound strengthened following the release of the agenda of incoming UK Prime Minister Liz Truss. In a policy that is expected to cost £130 billion over 18 months, Truss is moving to provide financial relief to British residents by alleviating energy bills.
Focus now turns to the ECB, which is expected to announce an interest rate hike of 75 basis points at its upcoming policy meeting. “We do think the risk of a global recession, especially next year, is actually quite high,” Grace Tam, BNP Paribas Wealth Management Hong Kong chief investment adviser, commented, hinting that the ECB’s decision will not likely extinguish the threat of the looming recession.