EUROPEAN SHARES-A new US stimulus package continues to sustain market sentiment.

European equities traded higher on Thursday, alongside Asian benchmarks and Futures on the S&P 500, as optimism about a new US stimulus package continues to sustain market sentiment. Investors’ risk appetite continues to grow as US lawmakers move closer to a new deal, while yesterday’s minutes from the last FOMC meeting also showed further support from US central bankers may also be on its way and this is helping to drive stocks higher everywhere. It is interesting to note that while the EU already successfully reassured investors by providing an unprecedented fiscal and monetary stimulus response earlier this year, most EU stock traders are focusing solely on the latest developments in the US, despite record infection numbers being registered on the old continent (France, Italy and Spain). Increased market volatility is expected this afternoon as the ECB’s Monetary Policy Statement as well as the Initial Jobless Claims data in the US loom. Today’s best performances come from Madrid with financial and energy shares leading the IBEX-35 Index higher, inside its major resistance zone around the crucial 7,000pts level.