Stock markets are continuing to ignore the US government shutdown, even though there remains no agreement in sight between the Trump administration and Democrats. This morning, shares in Europe are picking up where New York left off, with a sea of green across the board. In London, the FTSE 100 reached a new high after rising 0.7 per cent, with pharma stocks leading the risers’ chart. Led by AstraZeneca, investors rejoiced as US drug giant Pfizer reached an agreement on pricing with the US government, seemingly ending worry about tougher restrictions. Astra shares were up 6 per cent while Hikma and GSK rose between 2 and 4 per cent. More on that here

The Dax and Cac were up between 0.3 and 0.4 per cent this morning, while shares in New York climbed, with the S&P rising 0.4 per cent and the industrial Dow Jones index up 0.18 per cent. The Mag Seven stocks were mixed, but Nvidia reached a new high. As discussed earlier this week, the markets will look through the shutdown for now but things could change the longer it goes on. We’ll miss vital jobs data on Friday, meaning traders will have to blindly guess what the Federal Reserve will do next, as if they weren’t doing that already. A vote yesterday saw 55 senators agree to the new spending plan, but it needs 60 to pass, meaning the administration has a few Democrats it needs to win over. Shares rose yesterday as investors priced in more cuts on the back of soft job openings data and short-term yields fell slightly. 

Back at home, house prices rose 2.2 per cent in September, according to Nationwide’s house price index. This was broadly unchanged from August’s 2.1 per cent growth rate. Prices are starting to stabilise after a bit of an up and down period, but the market itself remains slow, with confidence shot. But Nationwide’s chief economist Robert Gardner said as rates come down, combined with low unemployment, things could pick up. But will rates come down? The Bank of England is in a bit of a bind at the moment, and talk is rising of a hike. It’s outlandish, perhaps, but the conditions could merit it if you look at some of the data. More on that here

By Taha Lokhandwala