The appointment of former FBI chief Robert Mueller as special counsel for the Trump-Russia investigation went some way to reassuring investors this morning.
Speadex Analyst, Connor Campbell noted – “Though not quite as pronounced as yesterday, a sense of unease still hangs over the market. While there may be a few other reasons for the recent highs – including Macron’s French election win and the Brent Crude recovery – the European and US indices wouldn’t have been anywhere near those levels in the first place if it wasn’t for Trump. Any threat to his presidency, then, is going to spell trouble for the global markets.”
Having been the most resilient index yesterday, this morning saw the FTSE become the worst performer, falling 0.4% after the bell with most of the drag coming from its commodity stocks and the fallout from yesterday’s Trump/Comey revelation.
In focus for UK investors this morning, suggested Accendo Markets Analyst, Mike van Dulken, “will be UK Retail Sales for the expected rebound in April following a weak March.”
Focusing on GBPUSD, ADS Securities Analyst, Konstantinos Anthis suggested – “The dollar has been on the decline since the end of last week pulled down by weak economic data and then strong Presidential rumours, which could help push sterling through the 1.3000 barrier today. This will depend on the UK retail sales report which is released this morning with analysts predicting a bullish printing after last month’s disappointing decline. If the pound overcomes the 1.3000 resistance, then the road is clear all the way to 1.3220 and 1.3400.”
Over in the US, yesterday’s latest political drama saw US indices close sharply lower, with the three major bourses suffering their largest one day falls since September. Mike van Dulken noted, “The Dow Jones shed over 370 points, only eclipsed in the past 12 months by 9 September’s 395 points and Brexit’s 610 points, lead by losses for Goldman Sachs, with the Financial sector also proving a burden for the S&P 500 while the Tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite underperformed its peers, down 2.6%.”
