Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy (LVMH) and US jeweller Tiffany announced on 25 November 2019 a $16.2-billion tie-up that is the French luxury group's biggest-ever acquisition and will bolster its presence in the United States. The companies said in a statement they "have entered into a definitive agreement whereby LVMH will acquire Tiffany for $135 per share in cash, in a transaction with an equity value of approximately 14.7 billion euros or $16.2 billion." (AFP)

Stock markets rose solidly Monday on China-US trade hopes and after Hong Kong’s pro-democracy camp secured a stunning local election win.

Grabbing attention also was the announcement by French luxury group LVMH that it had agreed to buy US jeweller Tiffany for $16.2 billion (14.7 billion euros).

LVMH shares jumped 2.0 percent to stand at 404.25 euros in Paris midday trading before falling back mid-afternoon to 401.55.

Shares of Tiffany shot up 5.8 percent meanwhile.

Regarding indices overall, Hong Kong was the standout performer, surging 1.5 percent by the close, and European stock markets were picking up the baton with gains of around half-a-percent around the half-way stage. Wall Street also opened higher.

The dollar traded mixed against main rivals, while oil prices flattened.

The pound rallied against the dollar and euro as polls continue to indicate a comfortable victory for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservatives in next month’s UK general election that would likely result in Brexit getting over the line early next year.

Losing ground, however, was ride-hailing giant Uber, which was off almost two percent after London’s transport authority refused to renew an operating licence citing safety and security concerns.

European “gains are most likely a result of some positive trade during the Asian session with shares extending higher following positive noises on the trade front over the weekend”, noted David Cheetham, chief market analyst at XTB trading group.

“The will-they-won’t-they nature of the US and China reaching a phase-one deal continues to be the main driver of short term swings in the markets, and on the whole investors seemingly remain positioned for a positive outcome on this front.”

There was fresh optimism over the pair’s long-running talks after Beijing offered an olive branch on the key issue of intellectual property, while US President Donald Trump hailed progress on the agreement.

Markets were cheered after China said at the weekend it would hike penalties on violations of intellectual property rights while also looking at reducing the thresholds for criminal punishments of those who steal IP.

The IP issue is a major sticking point for the United States in the discussions and agreement on it is seen as key to their success.

Trump on Friday told Fox News the deal was “potentially very close”.

Global markets have rallied in recent weeks on expectations that Washington and Beijing will sign a mini-pact as the first part of a wider trade deal, though dealers are growing edgy at the lack of detail from either side.

There are concerns about how tariffs would be wound back, with China insisting they are lifted as part of any agreement.

All eyes were on also Beijing’s reaction to the twist of events in Hong Kong.

The city’s deeply-unpopular leader on Monday vowed to “listen humbly” to voters after the pro-democracy camp scored a crushing victory in community-level elections that revealed broad public support for a protest movement that has stirred months of violence.

The result, the first vote to be held since protests engulfed the city, was a humiliating rebuke to Beijing and Chief Executive Carrie Lam.

In Hong Kong trading Monday, shares in property firms were among the best performers, while embattled transport network controller MTR Corp was also a big gainer.