The FTSE 100 and European stocks were higher on Monday, pushed by gains in the US on Friday and Asia today.
The FTSE 100 (^FTSE) was up 0.24% to 7,781 at the open, while the CAC 40 (^FCHI) in Paris jumped 0.27% to 7,014 points. In Germany, the DAX (^GDAXI) climbed 0.76% to 15,033.
Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “The FTSE 100 has opened marginally higher, as quiet optimism continues to swirl.”
She also highlighted “investor confidence has jumped 12% according to the Hargreaves Lansdown survey which tracks sentiment every month.”
Ocado (OCDO.L) was the biggest riser in early trading, up 2.54%, followed by Admiral Group (ADM.L), up 1.34% and Halma (HLMA.L), up 1.09%. Miners Antofagasta (ANTO.L) and Endeavour (EDV.L), both up by 1%, completed the top five risers.
Meanwhile, Brent crude (BZ=F) slipped and was trading at around $87 (£70.12) per barrel, thinned by the Lunar New Year holiday in east Asia but rising China demand pointed to a potential upside for the market.
In Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 (^N225) closed higher, climbing 1.33% to 26,906 points, while the Hang Seng (^HSI) in Hong Kong gained 1.82% to 22,044. The Shanghai Composite (000001.SS) also edged higher, rising 0.76% to 3,264 points.
Across the pond, stocks rallied to close higher on Friday, as quarterly earnings helped lift Netflix (NFLX), while Google parent Alphabet (GOOG) climbed after announcing job cuts.
Read more: What is ‘career cushioning’ and can it help you safeguard your job?
The Dow Jones (^DJI) rose 1% to close at 33,375 points. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) gained 1.89% to finish at 3,972 points and the tech-heavy NASDAQ (^IXIC) advanced 2.66% to 10,140.
S&P 500 futures (ES=F), Dow futures (YM=F) and Nasdaq futures (NQ=F) were all muted as trade began in Europe on Monday.
