Asia
A 1% rise in the Shanghai Composite Index pushed it through 3,000 points today, the level it breached last summer as China stocks entered a bear market. The trigger for that was trade war fears and now with hopes rising for an imminent announcement from US and China, the turnaround looks nearly complete.
Japan’s Nikkei was also up 1%, closing at 21,822 points.
Europe
Shares in Europe received a modest boost from Asia’s gains, with France’s CAC 40 the biggest gaining index.
The UK’s FTSE 100 consolidated above 7,100 points, led by NMC Healthcare (NMC), while British Airways owner IAG (IAG) was the biggest faller.
The European Central Bank meets this week.
North America
Friday’s US non-farm payrolls are the highlight of the economics calendar this week. The US economy is expected to have added 185,000 jobs in February, lower than the 304,000 posts added in January.
Canada unemployment figures are due on the same today. The Bank of Canada makes a decision on interest rates on Wednesday. Rates are expected to be kept on hold at 1.75%.
Retail is the focus of company results, with Target (TGT) and Costco (COST) reporting this week.