LONDON — Europe’s major markets surged in mid-morning trading on Monday following a week in the doldrums due to a war of words between the U.S. and North Korea.
All major markets were up, led by the FTSE MIB in Milan, which climbed 1.2 percent to 21,612.90, followed by the DAX in Frankfurt, 1 percent to 12,136.02 and the CAC 40 in Paris, 0.8 percent to 5,103.77. The FTSE 100 in London climbed 0.6 percent to 7,350.97.
The euro traded at $1.18, while the pound fetched $1.30 and the Swiss franc equaled $1.04 at 12:20 p.m. CET.
Retail and luxury stocks also rebounded, with the morning’s biggest gainers including Ted Baker, 2.5 percent to 24.42 pounds; Gemfields, 2 percent to 0.32 pounds; Aeffe, 1.5 percent to 1.85 euros; Salvatore Ferragamo, 1.3 percent to 24.27 euros, and The Swatch Group, 1.1 percent to 74 Swiss francs.
Among the few stocks to lose any ground were French Connection, 2.7 percent to 0.40 pounds; Joules Group, 2.5 percent to 3.15 pounds, and Pandora, 3.6 percent to 662 Danish kroner.
Last week, the U.S. and North Korea were trading threats, with the latter saying it was preparing to fire missiles at U.S. territory Guam. But it appears that international diplomatic efforts are working, while the U.S. CIA chief Mike Pompeo told Fox News that a nuclear war was not imminent.