European and U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday as fears regarding Italy’s new bank tax subside. This comes after the Italian government revealed that the newly introduced tax would be less impactful than what analysts had expected.
Banking stocks in Europe jumped 1.6%, thereby pushing the pan-European Stoxx 600 Index higher by 1%. During the prior session, European banking stocks plummeted by 3.5% following the announcement of Italy’s new banking tax law.
Futures on the S&P 500 rose 0.3%, while those listed on the Nasdaq 100 advanced by 0.4%. Globally, the MSCI’s broad index of global shares rose by 0.3% while Italy’s FTSE MIB share index surged 2% higher.
The U.S. dollar weakened slightly, with the dollar index slipping by 0.2%, while the U.S. Treasury two-year yield remained flat at 4.758%. Ten-year yields also stayed put at roughly 4.02%.
Oil prices edged higher, with Brent crude futures rising 0.2% to $86.36 per barrel while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures climbed 0.3% to $83.15.