Stock markets rally as US tax cuts move step closer

LONDON: European stock markets jumped Monday following strong gains for Tokyo and fresh pre-weekend records on Wall Street as US President Donald Trump's tax reforms moved into sight.

Around 1115 GMT, London's benchmark FTSE 100 index was up 0.4 percent, with gains limited by the pound rising versus the dollar impacting multinational UK companies whose reported earnings are in the US currency.

In the eurozone, Frankfurt's DAX 30 rallied 1.6 percent and the Paris CAC 40 advanced 1.2 percent compared with Friday's closing levels.

On the corporate front, shares in Thales soared almost eight percent to 92.86 euros -- a day after the French aerospace and defence group said it was buying European SIM manufacturer Gemalto for 4.8 billion euros ($5.7 billion) to become a global leader in digital security.

Gemalto stock was up 5.5 percent at 49.4 euros.

"Global indices are trading higher with the impending tax reform vote driving further gains across the board," said Joshua Mahony, market analyst at IG trading group.

The controversial reforms look destined to become the US president's first major congressional victory as two key Republican holdouts in the Senate decided to back the bill after their demands were met Friday.

The news sent US stocks soaring the same day on hopes the cuts will help fire the already healthy economy and boost company profits.

As the dollar rose against the yen, in turn lifting share prices of Japanese exporters, Tokyo's main stocks index surged 1.6 percent by the close Monday.

Prior to some profit-taking, the dollar benefitted from the tax hopes as traders bet that the cuts would fan US inflation and push the Federal Reserve to hike borrowing costs further.

Elsewhere on Monday, bitcoin jumped almost 10 percent to $19,500 at one point, according to Bloomberg.

It later fell back to $18,873.30 as the CME Group, which runs the world's biggest futures exchange, began trading futures in the cryptocurrency Sunday.

The listing came a week after Bitcoin started on the Cboe, the first time it had appeared on a major exchange and marking a watershed for the unit, despite warnings about its extreme volatility and a possible bubble explosion.

Bitcoin has soared in recent weeks, breaking numerous records, and has risen more than 20-fold since the start of the year on speculative buying.

- Key figures around 1115 GMT -

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 7,521.97 points

Paris - CAC 40: UP 1.2 percent at 5,412.66

Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP 1.6 percent at 13,308.6

EURO STOXX 50: UP 1.2 percent at 3,601.56

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.6 percent at 22,901.77 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng: UP 0.7 percent at 29,050.41 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 3,267.92 (close)

New York - DOW: UP 0.6 percent at 24,651.74 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1795 from $1.1755 at 2200 GMT on Friday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3356 from $1.3323

Dollar/yen: UP at 112.66 yen from 112.63 yen

Oil - Brent North Sea: UP 23 cents at $63.46 per barrel

Oil - West Texas Intermediate: UP 29 cents at $57.59