After an exciting – if not positive – start to last week, the tale of the tape for markets on Monday appears decidedly more dull. With little on the calendar and the FTSE predictably lagging behind mainland European indices, onlookers will be holding their breathe for the next tweet from Trump and the anticipated announcement of a snap election, courtesy of Boris Johnson.
With updates further prophesying the death of the highstreet and China releasing fundamentals today, Spreadex financial analyst Connor Campbell commented on the outlook for markets and currencies,
“The markets were determined to start what is looking like an otherwise quiet Monday by putting their best foot forward.”
“Despite still having plenty to worry about, from the trade war to Brexit – the impact of which may be evidenced by the week’s data, including a UK jobs/inflation/retail sales relay and a data-dump from China – the European indices sprung out of the gate.”
“Leaping 130 points higher, the DAX once again crossed 11800, pushing it back above 11800 and leaving it at its best price since the market-wide plunge suffered this time last week. The CAC was in near enough the same situation; a 1.1% rise put the French bourse at 5375, though that remains around 300 points off of where it was at the end of July.”
“Hampered oh so slightly by the pound’s futile attempts at a comeback – while cable’s unchanged at a 32-month nadir, against the euro sterling is up 0.3% – the FTSE couldn’t quite match the giddiness of its Eurozone peers. Nevertheless, a 50 point climb put the UK index within touching distance of 7300, around 100 points shy of where it opened last Monday.”
“Calendar-wise, Monday is a bit of a dust bowl, leaving the stage free for a rebound-disrupting tweet from Trump or growth-undermining statement from Beijing. The rest of the week, however, should make up for the quiet start.”
So, I won’t be smiling while I take out Euros for my holiday this week, but realistically nothing dramatic has happened. Our best advice going forwards would be to trade cautiously but not to ‘chase the story’ (so to speak) on markets, whether the next doom and gloom candidate be Brexit or a recession. There is always potential for catastrophe but by no means is it ever under-represented by media outlets and chat forums.
Other market and macro financial news has come from; UK GDP during the second quarter, the London Stock Exchange Group (LON: LSE), the US-China currency manipulation debacle, and analysts’ outlook for markets and currencies.