The bear is back in his cage: FTSE 100 gains and Japan’s Nikkei 225 roars into positive territory on global stimulus hopes from the European Central Bank’s Mario Draghi
Finally some good news: the FTSE 100 got off to a flying start this morning, gaining up to 1.8 per cent in early trading as dovish remarks from Mario Draghi sent investors' spirits soaring.
Global bourses surged, with Japanese stocks roaring out of bear market territory to make their second-biggest one-day gain in five years.
The Nikkei 225 index closed 5.88 per cent up at 16,958.5, a sizeable gain beat only by the 7.7 per cent leap it made on 9 September last year.
This welcome relief from the mauling markets took earlier in the week comes courtesy of dovish remarks from the European Central Bank (ECB) suggesting more stimulus to come.
Signaling that further monetary easing could be expected in the next couple of months, ECB president Mario Draghi said that although it was leaving rates on hold it would “review and possibly reconsider its stance in March.
Other Asian indexes rallied similarly on the news, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closing over three per cent up and both Australian and Chinese stocks ending the day over one per cent up.
After the roaring gains made overnight, the Nikkei’s decline for the week is down to just 1.1 per cent, but it remains the third consecutive week of losses.