Stocks heading for best weeks in six ahead of Yellen, Draghi speeches

LONDON - 25 August 2017: World stocks climbed toward their best week in six on Friday, as a near three-year high in emerging market shares and a roaring rally in metals bolstered the year’s global bull run.

Moves were mainly small ahead of speeches later by Federal Reserve and European Central Bank heads Janet Yellen and Mario Draghi at one of the highlights of central banking calendar, the Jackson Hole, Wyoming, symposium, but there was some traction.

European shares overcame an early wobble after reassuring business confidence data from Germany and as the week’s 3 and 7 percent rises in metals copper and nickel [MET/L] gave the region’s miners .SXPP a 4 percent weekly gain.

London’s FTSE .FTSE, which has a heavyweight mining contingent, led the way with a 0.4 percent rise on the day and 1.5 percent for the week. It was also being boosted by the fourth straight weekly drop in the Brexit-bruised pound GBP=, which helps internationally-earned profits.

Fast charging emerging markets helped Asia secure a 1.6 percent weekly rise, while Wall Street looked set to open higher despite a rumbling row for Donald Trump as the United States approaches its self-imposed government debt limit. [.N]

“Our current assessment of the overall risk and reward picture keeps us overweight global equities in our tactical asset allocation,” UBS Wealth Management chief investment officer, Mark Haefele, said in a monthly note.

“Earnings and economic growth are strong enough, and central bank policy is still sufficiently loose to suggest that, in the absence of a shock, markets are likely to trend higher over the next six months.”