Equities climb higher amid stimulus hopes

European Union leaders meet later Friday to seek agreement over a proposed recovery fund to help the countries hard hit by the coronavirus outbreak to rebuild.

The current 750-billion euro proposal sees a split of 500 billion in grants and 250 billion in loans, which would mark a significant step towards fiscal integration in Europe.

There are chances that the agreement won’t be made today, which might disappoint investors, and risk markets could be hit. Therefore, EU politicians should make sure that they will agree on everything as soon as possible. 

Moreover, politicians in the US are starting to debate another recovery package as the first package checks are about to end in late July. As more states in the USA are closing down again, unemployment will increase again, and the government is directly responsible. 

Later in the day, US housing starts are due, along with building permits, which could influence the US dollar.

Meanwhile, the greenback was trading flat, with the EURUSD pair below 1.14 and the USDJPY pair above 107. Volatility in the FX markets remains minimal. 

Oil was seen trading above the important 40 USD threshold, while gold was trying to hold above 1,800 USD.