A stock market rally that sent equities to record highs last week paused on Monday as investors held back from placing bets ahead of the start of the US corporate earnings season. The European Stoxx 600 slipped 0.2 per cent lower in early trades, the UK’s FTSE 100 fell 0.3 per cent and futures markets indicated a soft opening for Wall Street bourses. On Friday, the S&P 500 and the Stoxx both hit record highs ahead of US quarterly earnings reports that are expected to show the strongest profit growth in two-and-a-half years as the economic recovery from coronavirus unfolds.

A stock market rally that sent equities to record highs last week paused on Monday as investors held back from placing bets ahead of the start of the US corporate earnings season. The European Stoxx 600 slipped 0.2 per cent lower in early trades, the UK’s FTSE 100 fell 0.3 per cent and futures markets indicated a soft opening for Wall Street bourses. On Friday, the S&P 500 and the Stoxx both hit record highs ahead of US quarterly earnings reports that are expected to show the strongest profit growth in two-and-a-half years as the economic recovery from coronavirus unfolds.