全球股市接近17个月高位

Global stocks hovered near 17-month highs and the euro hit its best level against the dollar since April as risk appetite continued to be buoyed by optimism about a US budget deal and hopes of further monetary stimulus in Japan.

全球股市接近17个月高位，而欧元兑美元汇率达到自4月以来的最高水平。围绕美国能够达成预算协议的乐观情绪，以及人们对于日本出台进一步货币刺激的希望，继续提振风险偏好。

The FTSE All-World equity index was up 0.4 per cent as Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 Average jumped 2.4 per cent to regain the 10,000 level for the first time in eight months and the FTSE Eurofirst 300 rose 0.4 per cent.

富时环球指数(FTSE All-World)上涨0.4%；东京日经225平均指数(Nikkei 225 average)跃升2.4%，8个月来首次重返1万点上方；富时Eurofirst 300 (FTSE Eurofirst 300)指数上涨0.4%。

Wall Street, however, paused for breath in the wake of the S and P 500’s biggest two-day rally in a month.

不过，华尔街在标准普尔500指数经历一个月来最大幅度的两天涨势后稍作停歇。

By midday in New York, the index was down 0.2 per cent as investors awaited further developments from Washington regarding the fiscal cliff of US tax increases and spending cuts due to kick in at the start of next year.

至纽约午盘期间，标准普尔500指数下跌了0.2%，投资者等待着华盛顿方面在财政悬崖问题上取得进一步进展。财政悬崖指的是，若两党谈不拢，一整套增税减支措施将在明年初自动生效。收市时，标准普尔500指数下跌了11点，降至1436点。

Support for riskier assets also came from some positive data on the German economy as the Ifo index of business sentiment improved for a second successive month in December.

来自德国经济的积极数据，也有利于较高风险的资产，12月Ifo商业景气指数(Ifo index of business sentiment)连续第二个月上升。

Analysts noted that, while the current assessment component of the Ifo had dropped to its lowest level since June 2010, expectations recorded the strongest monthly increase since July 2010.

分析师指出，尽管Ifo的“当前评估分类指数跌至自2010年6月以来的最低点，但“预期分类指数录得2010年7月以来最强劲的月度增长。

“With a worsening current assessment but improving expectations, today’s Ifo sends a clear message: things will go worse before they get better, said Carsten Brzeski, economist at ING. “It looks as if any contraction of the economy should be short-lived. The survey helped push the euro to an eight-month high against the dollar above $1.33, although it subsequently trimmed its advance. The single currency also reached its best level against the yen since August 2011.

荷兰国际集团(ING)经济学家卡斯滕·布尔泽斯基(Carsten Brzeski)表示：“鉴于‘当前评估’正在恶化而‘预期’出现起色，今日的Ifo传递出一个明确的信息：情况会先恶化再好转。看来，任何经济收缩都应当是短暂的。在这一调查结果的帮助下，欧元兑美元汇率升至1欧元兑1.33美元以上的8个月高点，尽管其随后回吐一部分升幅。此外，欧元兑日元汇率也达到自2011年8月以来的最高水平。