At its meeting yesterday, OPEC+ decided to continue reducing its oil supply, in order to support prices. If the cartel is right, the production surplus should be eliminated by the first quarter of 2024. Nevertheless, black gold fell yesterday.

The spotlight later this afternoon will shine be on Jerome Powell, as he is due to speak. If he has a message to get across, the Fed chairman will have to take advantage of it, because US central bankers enter a blackout period on December 2, ahead of the central bank meeting scheduled for December 13.

The FTSE 100 was up 0.6% this morning on hopes that major central banks were nearing an end of their interest rate hike trajectory.

Meanwhile, a private survey showed China's factory activity unexpectedly grew in November, sending mining stocks up.

AstraZeneca gained 1% after it discontinued two phase III trials for Lokelma, a drug for hyperkalaemia management, due to extended enrolment timelines and low event rates. It emphasized that the decision was not related to safety concerns and that Lokelma's approved anti-hyperkalemia therapy's risk-benefit profile remains positive.

In other news, GSK's CEO projecting over GBP 1 billion in RSV vaccine sales, UK house prices showed an unexpected rise in November, and Frasers Group terminated its proposed acquisition of German retail chain SportScheck due to the latter's insolvency.

Investors are also anticipating the release of the November S&P Global/CIPS manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index later this morning.

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