Optimism about the US economy and strong corporate earnings for firms including Ford and General Motors is driving stock markets higher in America today. The S&P500 climbed to record highs once again yesterday, reaching a peak of 2,529.12 at the close, up more than 20 points since last week - can it make similar gains today?
Though many investors (both individual and institutional) are highly skeptical of the economy, earnings and the lofty valuations of many stocks, the high-flying bull market keeps on going.
European indices are higher this Tuesday, as the sell-off in Spanish stocks following the Catalonia referendum crisis eased and financials gained, following another record-breaking session at Wall Street.
Germany's DAX30 is closed for the holiday (the Day of German Unity), but other European markets are open as normal.
The FTSE100 opened slightly weaker this morning, thanks to a drop of more than 2% in defence firm BAE Systems, following a downgrade from 'buy' to 'hold' from analysts at Berernberg, one of Europes major private banks. Despite this, the FTSE has seen stellar gains since late September, rising over 150 points.
In India today, falling stocks outnumbered rising ones on the NIFTY50, which has been a recurring theme since the index touched 10,153.10 points (its peak) in mid-September. Sustained selling of Indian equities has stopped the index from staying above 10,000 points for any decent length of time.
