US stocks and GBP jump after leaders’ Tweets

There’s been two sharp moves this afternoon that demonstrate the growing influence social media can have on financial markets with both US stock markets and sterling surging higher following messages on Twitter from political leaders. First US president Donald Trump hinted at a possible market-friendly outcome to the latest round of meetings between the world’s two largest economies. 

There’s two main points to take away from Trump’s message; 1) Trump claims China want to make a deal and 2) Perhaps more importantly the Vice Premier is staying around till tomorrow. Earlier reports that he would leave this evening were taken to suggest no agreement would be reached but this goes against that school of thought and is clearly buoying sentiment. Wall Street rallied on the news and jumped to its highest level of the day.  

Closer to home, a joint statement from Boris Johnson and his Irish counterpart Leo Varadkar has seen a spike higher in the pound. The announcement is decidedly upbeat in its tone and while it stops well short of suggesting a deal is imminent it has been warmly welcomed in the markets. The pound has jumped across the board in response as UK yields have gained with the GBP/EUR enjoying a strong bounce after earlier trading at its lowest level since the start of September.