The British Pound Hits a 31 Year Low

European markets closed higher yesterday as the British Pound fell to a 31 year low against the US Dollar. Shares of Deutsche Bank were also back focus as German markets reopened from a public holiday.

The pan-European STOXX 50 closed up over one percent as the FTSE 100 jumped nearly two percent at one point, only to close up 1.3 percent. The French CAC 40 was up 1.3 percent and stocks in Germany rose over one percent on Tuesday.

Shares of Deutsche Bank were on a rollercoaster the last week as news surfaced that the US Department of Justice wanted a settlement of $14 billion but a recent report is suggesting this number could now be reduced to $5.4 billion. Talks are ongoing and no settlement has been reached yet.

US Stocks were mixed after a higher opening with the Dow Jones and global benchmark, the S&P 500 trading mixed for the day. Both indices closed near the flat line on Tuesday.

Renewed Brexit News Weighs on the British Pound

Traders were also focusing on the United Kingdom as Prime Minister Theresa May said the country would enact Article 50 by March 2017. The British Pound fell to its lowest level against the US Dollar since 1985. The United Kingdom is expecting Article 50 talks to last at least two years.

The rate hike schedule for the US Federal Reserve (Fed) is also back in focus. A number of hawkish comments supported the US Dollar as various Fed officials said they would be comfortable with rate hike by December as long as data remained supportive.