Stocks stage small ‘Santa rally,’ Brexit deal hopes lift pound

Stocks stage small ‘Santa rally,’ Brexit deal hopes lift pound

Stocks stage small 'Santa rally,' Brexit deal hopes lift pound

Stocks stage small 'Santa rally,' Brexit deal hopes lift pound

Stocks stage small 'Santa rally,' Brexit deal hopes lift pound

The MSCI world stock index rose 0.24 percent, but was trading more than 1 percent below record highs struck last week. The index is eyeing gains of over 12 percent for this year. (AP)

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Stocks stage small 'Santa rally,' Brexit deal hopes lift pound

The possibility of a delay to long-awaited and hard-fought spending plans sent US S&P 500 futures down in Asia

Updated 23 December 2020

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LONDON: Stocks rose on Wednesday as a last-minute intervention by US President Donald Trump over pandemic relief plans failed to wipe out positive sentiment, while the pound gained on the possibility of a Brexit trade deal.

In a video posted on Twitter, Trump said a stimulus bill, agreed after months of wrangling in Congress, was "a disgrace“ and that he wanted to increase "ridiculously low“ $600 checks for individuals to $2,000.

The possibility of a delay to long-awaited and hard-fought spending plans sent US S&P 500 futures down in Asia, but they later recovered and were trading up 0.25 percent.

"The market is betting on a fiscal deal coming through even