Bitcoin price today: dips to $117k, altcoins fall as markets lock in recent gains
* Sterling down but well off session lows
* Tesla shares jump, Microsoft gains
(Adds UK prime minister calling for an election)
By Caroline Valetkevitch
NEW YORK, Oct 24 (Reuters) - The pound was weaker but pared
losses against the dollar on Thursday in the wake of British
Prime Minister Boris Johnson's call for a Dec. 12 election to
break the country's deadlock over its planned exit from the
European Union, while global stock markets edged up.
Johnson said in a letter to opposition Labour leader Jeremy
Corbyn he would give Parliament more time to approve his Brexit
deal but that lawmakers must back a December election.
Sterling GBP= was last trading at $1.2848, down 0.53% on
the day, well off its lows of the session.
EU member states on Wednesday delayed a decision on whether
to grant Britain a three-month Brexit extension. were flat to higher, with upbeat earnings from
Microsoft https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks/wall-street-set-to-open-higher-on-microsoft-tesla-results-idUSKBN1X31IJ
MSFT.O and Mercedes maker Daimler https://www.reuters.com/article/us-daimler-results/daimler-third-quarter-operating-profit-up-8-boosted-by-mercedes-sales-idUSKBN1X30GS
DAIGn.DE offsetting disappointing results from Twitter
TWTR.N and other companies.
"When earnings season began, the bar was set pretty low, and
now a host of companies have reported and beaten expectations
... But I wouldn't say we are completely out of the woods," said
Brian Yacktman, chief investment officer at YCG Fund in Austin,
Texas.
The S&P 500 briefly moved lower after comments from U.S.
Vice President Mike Pence, who accused China of curtailing
"rights and liberties" in Hong Kong but also insisted that the
United States does not seek confrontation or to "de-couple" from
its main economic rival. The latest estimate for third-quarter earnings for companies
on the benchmark U.S. S&P 500 index improved slightly. Earnings
are expected to have declined 2.3% year-over-year in the quarter
versus an estimated decline of 2.9% on Wednesday, according to
IBES data from Refinitiv.
Third-quarter earnings reports took center stage on Wall
Street, with investors trying to gauge the fallout from a
prolonged U.S.-China trade war, which has already shown up in
the domestic economy.
Tesla https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tesla-stock/tesla-shares-bonds-jump-after-surprise-third-quarter-profit-idUSKBN1X31NG
TSLA.O shares rallied, a day after the company reported an
unexpected third-quarter profit. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 57.59 points,
or 0.21%, to 26,776.36, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 2.2 points, or
0.07%, to 3,006.72 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 51.21
points, or 0.63%, to 8,171.01.
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS
gained 0.27%. The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX rose
0.59%.
German companies, including Daimler, helped to boost
Europe's indexes.
The euro EUR= was down 0.21% to $1.1106.
In commodities markets, U.S. crude CLcv1 rose 0.77% to
$56.40 per barrel and Brent LCOcv1 was last at $61.78, up 1%
on the day.
Benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR last rose 4/32 in price
to yield 1.7467%, from 1.759% late on Wednesday.
Asia stock markets https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
Asia-Pacific valuations https://tmsnrt.rs/2Dr2BQA
Inflation, unemployment during the Draghi era https://tmsnrt.rs/2IXunV6
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