European stocks, dollar push higher tracking Trump

European stocks climbed today and the dollar surged to multi-month highs, with traders shrugging off concerns over the Trump presidency and weak Chinese economic data.
In foreign exchange, the euro struck a 11-month low at USD 1.0709, while the dollar reached also a five-month peak versus the yen.
"European shares are trading higher... Despite disappointing Chinese industrial production and retail sales data," said Markus Huber, a trader at City of London Markets.
"It appears that the fact that president-elect Trump might not be quite as radical and confrontational as some had feared and therefore generally less uncertainty making the rounds is pushing stocks higher for now."

Equities around the world have seen volatile trading since the tycoon's shock election win last week, with his pledge of big-spending measures and tax cuts leading to predictions of a surge in inflation and higher borrowing costs.
The prospect of better and safer returns in the US has also led to an exodus from emerging markets and currencies, while the Mexican peso has hit record dollar-lows owing to concerns about Trump's warning he will tear up a key trade deal.

"Trump-watching is still the pastime of choice," said analyst Jasper Lawler at CMC Markets.
Bank shares have been big gainers as lenders "stand to benefit from lighter touch regulation, possibly involving the dismantling of Dodd-Frank" rules to prevent another financial crisis.

Barclays jumped 5.4 per cent and RBS 4.5 per cent in London, while UBS climbed 5.5 per cent in Zurich, and Commerzbank soared 6.6 and Deutsche Bank added 3.8 per cent in Frankfurt.
London's benchmark FTSE 100 closed 0.3 per cent higher, with Frankfurt's DAX 30 adding 0.2 per cent and the Paris CAC 40 climbing 0.4 per cent.
US stocks paused for breath, with the Dow flat in midday trading after last week's post-election rally saw it set a record close on Friday.
Tokyo's Nikkei ended up 1.7 per cent, with exporters rallying on the back of the weakened yen. The dollar reached 107.96 yen, the highest mark since early June.

Japanese stocks were lifted also by news that Japan's economy grew more than expected in the third quarter as exports offset slack consumer spending.
Shanghai put on 0.5 per cent despite data showing below-forecast retail sales and industrial output for October.
However, Hong Kong sank 1.4 per cent, extending a heavy loss on Friday, while Seoul and Sydney each shed 0.5 per cent and Singapore fell 0.9 per cent.