US equity markets rallied from their intraday lows into the close yesterday. However they still began the week in the red as investors prepare for a Fed rate hike next week, while spicy geopolitics and incoming Trump policies add to uncertainty. The Dow Jones saw insurance giant The Travelers underperform, while Financials and Materials names held back the S&P 500.
Accendo Markets Analyst, Mike Van Dulken added – “Note the Nasdaq underperformed on Monday, with the tech-focused index down 0.4% as Snap Inc. shares fell over 12%, in a stark reversal from the optimism of the company’s debut last week”
The FTSE has started the morning reclaiming some of the ground it lost yesterday, eking out a 5 to 10 point rise after the bell. Even that level of recovery was beyond the pound, however. Sterling slipped another 0.1% against the dollar, hitting a fresh 7 week low in the process, while it is now at a similar nadir against the euro following its latest 0.2% fall. It has really been a rough fortnight for the pound, a run that the currency will be hoping can be eased by whatever Brexit-related policies Philip Hammond reveals in tomorrow’s budget.
Over in the Eurozone there wasn’t much action, both the DAX and CAC slipping into the red as the day got underway. The former was in no way helped by poor German factory orders figures, the latest reading coming in at -7.4% against the -2.5% forecast and the 5.2% seen last month.
Spreadex Analyst, Connor Campbell noted – “There’s really not much on the cards this morning and, without even something like yesterday’s Deutsche Bank news to dictate direction, it could be another reticent, painfully dull day of trading.”
In focus today
UK Halifax House Prices data is expected to perk up to 0.4% month-on-month in February after January’s slowdown (-0.9%), although the 5.3% annual pace is seen slowing further from January’s 5.7% and December’s peak. It may be the Housebuilders which may react to the reports.
The final reading for Eurozone Q4 GDP is expected to confirm a 0.4% quarter-on-quarter reading, up slightly from Q3’s 0.3%, and the year-on-year print firm at 1.7%, although these are both a touch slower than the first estimate from late January.
