Happy days are here again. The equity rally continues, in spite of the knock it sustained when the White House decided to get tough with Detroit. And the shift in sentiment is palpable.
Yesterday, the S&P 500, the world's most tracked index, traded above its 100-day moving average – the average of prices for the previous 100 trading days – for the first time since May last year. The FTSE 100, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 and the Nikkei 225 are also now trading above this trend line. Positive sentiment is running through stock markets in a way not seen since last spring.
Why? Attention was focused on the G20 meeting in London, which at one point seemed on course for a bad falling-out. Avoiding this did the market no harm. But other factors were more important.