In European Equity Markets the FTSE 100 closed up by 1 percent and the CAC 40 in Paris was higher by 0.4 percent. The former hit a fresh intra-day record high Monday. Meanwhile, the main Italian index fell 1.5 percent on political news. German and other European markets were closed for a public holiday. In earnings, Ryanair reported a 10 percent increase in full-year profit after tax. The company reiterated Brexit concerns and reported a pessimistic outlook for 2019. The stock traded lower during early deals, but it rose more than 5 percent later in the day. Altice was among the worst performers, down by more than 7 percent, after the MSCI deleted it from the global standard indexes.

In Currency Markets the US dollar climbed to a five-month peak on Monday as news of a truce between the United States and China on trade tariffs prompted investors to pare back their short positions on the greenback. The dollar rose to a four-month high against the yen at 111.39 and was last at 111.13, up 0.4 percent. The euro, meanwhile, was flat against the dollar at $1.1770, after earlier falling to its lowest since around mid-November. Europe’s single currency has been affected by concerns about political uncertainty in Italy. Sterling declined half a percent and fell below $1.34 for the first time since December, before trimming some of its losses.

In Commodities Markets brent crude oil declined on Monday, surrendering early gains, though the prospect of an easing in trade tensions between the United States and China helped to stem losses. Brent crude futures eased by 12 cents to $78.39 a barrel, having reached a session high of $79.19. U.S. crude futures were up 30 cents at $71.55. The energy ministers of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates last week voiced concern about recent oil market volatility and plan to meet Russian counterpart Alexander Novak in St Petersburg to continue consultations. Fund managers cut their holdings of U.S. crude to the lowest level this year, according to data from the U.S. CFTC on Friday.

In US Equity Markets stocks climbed on Monday after the United States and China put their trade differences “on hold” to work on a wider agreement, while sentiment was also buoyed by the nearly $28 billion worth of merger activity. The S&P 500 was up 0.71 percent, at 2,732.17 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.49 percent, at 7,390.10. AK Steel and U.S. Steel both fell about 3.5 percent following a delay in implementing tariffs on Chinese imports. Micron jumped 3.2 percent, the most on the S&P, after the chip-maker lifted its current-quarter forecast. Philadelphia chip index SOX gaining 0.8 percent. The technology sector rose 0.7 percent.

In Bond Markets Italy’s borrowing costs rose further on Monday and its stock market touched six-week lows as two anti-establishment parties that plan to ramp up spending appeared set to form a coalition government. Italian two-year bond yields jumped more than 10 basis points to 0.23 percent, their highest since December 2016, before pulling back in afternoon trade to 0.17 percent. A week ago, that yield was at minus 0.11 percent. As 10-year Italian debt yields hit 10-month highs at almost 2.30 percent, the gap over benchmark German Bund yields pushed out to 175 bps — the widest since October.