European Stocks Gain As Investors Side-Step Brexit Risk Amid Global Market Rebound

Frankfurt (Mar 29)  European stocks added to gains Wednesday as financial markets continue to shift focus from the failure of President Donald Trump's health care reforms to the underlying strength of the global economy.

The region-wide Stoxx Europe 600 index, the broadest measure of share performance, edged 0.15% higher in the opening 45 minutes of trading as banking and basic resource sector stocks pacing the gains. Britain's FTSE 100 opened around 18 points higher, supported to a large degree by a weaker pound sterling, which has slipped markedly in the past two sessions to 1.2403 as the country's formal EU exit process begins and lawmakers in Scotland renewed a vow to pursue a second independence referendum..

Prime Minister Theresa May will formally deliver a letter to EU officials in Brussels later Wednesday that will fire the starting gun on Britain's lengthy exit negotiations before taking questions from U.K. lawmakers in Parliament around mid-day.

Germany's DAX index added a further 73 points at the start of trading to Tuesday's gains, with both Commerzbank AG and Deutsche Bank AG rising to the top of the benchmark's leaderboard. Daimler AG was also an early mover of note, rising 1.3% to €72.82 each after the carmaker told shareholders it is expecting record sales for its Mercedes-Benz division this year.

The optimistic start follows a solid session in Asia, where the MSCI ex-Japan benchmark rose 0.22% by 06:45 GMT amid rising commodity prices and a broadly firmer U.S. dollar. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 booked its second consecutive advance, rising 0.03% by the close of trading to 19,208.25 points.

Source: TheStreet