Markets Rally in Europe and Asia, as German Index Hits New Record

Continental European markets were relatively quiet on Monday because of the Whitsun holiday. But Germany's DAX Index broke through the psychologically important 10,000 mark for the first time and traded around that record level for the rest of the morning. Moscow's MICEX Index hs regained all the losses it suffered during the early weeks of the Ukraine crisis, despite the imposition of Western Sanctions that have continued to hurt parts of the Russian economy. Asian markets rose on news of a bigger than expected increase in China's trade surplus. China's central bank revalued the renminbi by a token 0.22% at its the daily fix, after months of allowing the currency to slide. In London, Lloyds Banking Group was one of the largest fallers, losing after setting the pricing range for its upcoming IPO of the demerged TSB Group at 220 pence to 290 pence. At the mid-point, TSB's market capitalization would be about $2.13 billion, a discount to book value of about 15%.