London — A gradual return of risk appetite lifted world shares on Tuesday, while there were milestones aplenty as sterling hit a post-Brexit high and US sanctions on Russia drove aluminium prices to a seven-year peak. Chinese data that provided a bit of something for everyone kept Asia largely in check overnight, but Europe started well with only London’s FTSE lagging as the pound’s power weighed on its big exporters. There were more signs of China opening up its economy, too, and a steadier Russian rouble showed investors were also gradually shifting attention away from Syria tensions back to corporate earnings and possible interest-rate moves. The pound’s rise was its eighth in a row, coming as bets firm on another Bank of England rate hike next month, while yields on US treasuries were at their highest in more than three weeks ahead of a flurry of top Fed speakers. "It looks like China may be willing to co-operate with the US so that might be spurring risk appetite and the positi...
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