Futures contracts on the FTSE 100 Index rose 1.3% as of 7:10 a.m. in London.
European Union ambassadors gave the go-ahead to the bloc’s draft free-trade agreement with the U.K., paving the way for the deal to take effect on Jan. 1. The thumbs-up by EU member-country envoys sets the stage for formal approval by the 27-nation bloc’s governments on Tuesday and for a vote by the U.K. House of Commons on Dec. 30.
The pact should give rise to the “unwinding of the uncertainty discount” which has meant U.K. shares have been unloved since the 2016 referendum to leave the EU, Dan Nickols, head of U.K. small and midcap strategy at Jupiter Fund Management, wrote in a year-ahead outlook note prior to the agreement being reached.