A lingering rally that reigned on the leading stock platforms for a significant part of October is over now. Since the beginning of November, indices have been staying flat.

Last week, the dynamics of indices developed under the influence of messages of mixed nature. The biggest surprise for markets was the decision of the European Central Bank to lower the base rate from 0.5% to 0.25%. In the opinion of many market players, such a decision of the central bank opens way to other offbeat decisions aimed at promoting economic growth in the euro area. Earlier in the previous week, the European Commission announced that it forecast the euro-area economy to grow 1.1% in 2014, whereas six months ago, the forecast was 1.2%.

At the same time, the fears of tapering the incentive program for the US economy grew stronger. These fears were based on the information about an increase in the number of jobs in the US economy in October 2013.

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