Draghi talks markets up after weakest Eurozone PMI since July 2013…

The flash Eurozone PMI Composite Output Index, a measure of business activity in manufacturing and services, showed “the pace of economic activity fell to a 16-month low in November. The index fell from 52.1 in October to 51.4, the lowest level since July 2013.

Still, the major European equity market indices outperformed last week, rallying strongly on Friday as investors seized on a speech from ECB President Mario Draghi as a commitment to more aggressive monetary policy action.

In the opening keynote speech at the Frankfurt European Banking Congress Draghi concluded: “If on its current trajectory our policy is not effective enough to achieve this, or further risks to the inflation outlook materialise, we would step up the pressure and broaden even more the channels through which we intervene, by altering accordingly the size, pace and composition of our purchases.”

The German DAX equity Index rose 2.62%, bringing the weekly gain to 5.18%, the most since July 2013.