LONDON: European stock prices rallied on Wednesday as the EU finally reached agreement on a number of key appointments, including IMF chief Christine Lagarde as the first female head of the European Central Bank.
"You have to look at Europe to understand today's rally," said Franklin Pichard, head of Kiplink Finance."Will Christine Lagarde, who will take the helm at the ECB in the coming months, be a fan" of accommodative monetary policy, the expert asked.
In addition to the ECB nomination, the European Parliament elected Italian social democrat, David Sassoli, as its new president, filling the final top EU job still vacant after the bloc's parliamentary elections in May.Traders cautioned, however, that while markets have taken cheer in recent days from an easing in trade tensions between the US and China, concerns about weak global growth are returning to the fore.
The commodity has endured a volatile week, having surged on Monday as Russia and Saudi Arabia agreed to prolong their output caps.