In European Equity Markets indexes closed up by the end of Monday’s trade, as investors tried to shake off concerns surrounding the government shutdown in the U.S. The pan-European Stoxx 600 finished trade up 0.31 percent. On the sector front, travel and leisure stocks led the losses Monday, finishing down 0.75 percent, amid reports of a fixed-odds betting limit in Britain. London-listed gambling companies such as William Hill and Ladbrokes Coral fell to the bottom of the benchmark. On the opposite end, telecoms and banks both closed above 1 percent each as a sector. Deutsche Telekom and Orange both finished more than 2 percent higher, after a report by France’s Le Monde said that the two telecom companies had held merger discussions during the course of 2017.

In Currency Markets the euro edged higher against the U.S. dollar on Monday, as market participants awaited the outcome of the European Central Bank’s meeting on Thursday for possible clues to future shifts in the bank’s monetary policy. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six rival currencies, was down 0.16 percent at 90.428, close to a three-year low, as the U.S. government shutdown weighed on sentiment. The ECB is likewise unlikely to ditch a pledge to keep buying bonds at next week’s meeting as rate setters need more time to assess the outlook for the economy and the euro, three sources close to the matter have said. Sterling was up 0.82 percent against the greenback at $1.3963, after earlier rising as high as $1.397, its highest since June 2016.

In Commodities Markets oil slipped on Monday under pressure from rising Libyan output and concerns that a rally that had sent prices to their highest since December 2014 had run out of steam. But losses were limited by comments from top exporter Saudi Arabia that OPEC and other producers would continue to cooperate on oil output cuts beyond 2018. Prices also found some support from strong economic growth that underpinned demand. Brent crude slipped 12 cents to $68.49 a barrel, reversing after modest gains earlier in the day. Brent is particularly sensitive to changes in output from Libya, as most Libyan crude is priced against Brent. U.S. crude fell 14 cents to $63.23, having also hit its highest since December 2014 last week.

In US Equity Markets the S&P and the Nasdaq hit fresh records on Monday as investors bet U.S. lawmakers would strike a deal to end a federal government shutdown and as a flurry of deals buoyed sentiment. U.S. senators were scheduled to vote midday on a funding bill, following failed attempts over the weekend to arrive at a consensus. The S&P 500 was up 0.26 percent, at 2,817.64 and the Nasdaq Composite was up  0.49 percent, at 7,372.28. Nine of the 11 major S&P sectors were higher, led by a 1.1 percent gain in the energy index and 0.9 percent rise in utilities index. Halliburton Co rose 4.2 percent after posting a much bigger-than-expected quarterly profit in the fourth quarter, benefiting from a shale-driven gain in U.S. oil production.

In Bond Markets Spain’s borrowing costs fell to six-week lows and short-dated bond yields in Greece tumbled on Monday, after ratings upgrades for the two southern euro zone states provided further evidence of a turnaround for the bloc’s peripheral economies. Spain’s 10-year bond yield fell 4 basis points to 1.39 percent, its lowest level in six weeks. Short-dated Greek bond yields were down almost 8 bps at 1.31 percent. The premium investors demand for holding Spanish bonds over top-rated German government debt fell to around 89 bps, its lowest since March 2015. Five-year Greek bond yields were slightly lower at 2.81 percent; longer-dated bond yields were a touch higher. Sentiment towards peripheral bonds was also supported by hopes for a deal to create a coalition government in Germany, the euro zone’s biggest economy.