LONDON (Reuters) - Global shares hit a two-week high on Monday as favorable U.S. jobs data whetted risk appetites, while sterling brushed off the resignation of two ministers over Britain’s departure from the European Union as traders focused on the likelihood of a “soft Brexit”.
The MSCI world equity index .MIWD00000PUS, which tracks shares in 47 countries, rose 0.4 percent, while the pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.6 percent, led by a strong rise across mining stocks.
The pound regained ground after an earlier wobble after news broke that Brexit Secretary David Davis and Minister Steven Baker had resigned in opposition to British Prime Minister Theresa May’s plan for leaving the EU.
Sterling GBP=D3 hit its highest level since June 14, up 0.4 percent at $1.3344. Britain's FTSE .FTSE gained 0.3 percent.
The move came just two days after a meeting at May’s Chequers country residence supposedly sealed a cabinet deal on Brexit and underlines the deep divisions in her ruling Conservative Party over the departure from the EU.
“Sterling up and FTSE up does suggest that there’s a slight sigh of relief generally,” Ian Williams, economics & strategy research analyst at Peel Hunt, said.
“(The UK) is quite defensive, so in trade war times when industrials and tech are getting clobbered, that’s not so much of problem for the UK because those sectors are not as big in weighting terms as they are for the Euro zone or the U.S.,” added Williams.
More broadly, sentiment across markets was mostly positive after Friday’s U.S. payrolls report showed tame wages and more people looking for work.
“The combination
