However, European central banks are not ready for a dovish pivot yet. ECB officials said that further aggressive interest rate hikes may be needed to tame inflation. This weighed on the British real estate market.

This morning, the FTSE 100 was down 0.6%, weighed down by energy and mining stocks due to worries about China's economic growth as Covid cases rise in the country.

Demonstrations broke out in several cities this weekend against the Covid restrictions that have been going on for nearly three years.

China is one of the only countries in the world still applying a strict "zero Covid" policy, with repeated lockdowns and almost daily PCR tests of the population.

As a result, banks exposed to the region are down, with HSBC and Standard Chartered both falling more than 1%.

Meanwhile, Reuters reports that Black Friday shopper numbers in the U.K gained 3.7% year-on-year, although they were still down 21.3% on pre-pandemic levels.

 

Things to read today:

The Treasury Market’s Big Recession Trade is Gathering Momentum (Bloomberg)

Chinese stocks drop after zero-Covid protests add to uncertainty (Financial Times)

Stocks are on the Rise, but Earnings Could Drag them Down Again (WSJ)