By Tony Cross, Monk Communications
The mining sector has had a very strong run over the last week with expectations of increased demand for materials in light of Donald Trump’s infrastructure plans having delivered some significant upside and traders seem ready to book some profits here.
Pearson is the stand out winner in early trade, up almost 5% in the wake of a broker upgrade, whilst Land Securities is also finding favour off the back of some well received earnings – some welcome respite for a business that has been rattled by the prospect of Brexit.
Looking ahead, UK inflation data will be under close scrutiny and the falling pound should again deliver another welcome boost here, although anything too hot would raise concerns over monetary policy which in turn could leave stocks rattled.
Later in the session, US retail sales will also be under scrutiny and could offer some direction on both sides of the Atlantic although on the basis this number will reflect conditions well before the election, the impact could be rather short lived.