Major stock markets in Europe are seen opening the new week on a weak note as anxiety ahead of non-farm payrolls data from the U.S., inflation and balance of trade data from China etc. weigh on sentiment. Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s comments on Friday that attempted to push back on interest rate cut expectations and warning that it was premature to anticipate policy easing also lingered.
Wall Street had closed on a positive note on Friday amidst renewed rate cut expectations and Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s comments that inflation was moving in the right direction. Nasdaq Composite gained 0.55 percent to close at 14,305.03 whereas the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.82 percent to finish trading at 36,245.50.
Positive sentiment prevailed in the European bourses as well on Friday amidst encouraging inflation data from the region as well as growing rate cut expectations. Germany’s DAX topped with gains of 1.1 percent. U.K.’s FTSE 100 followed with gains of a little over a percent. The pan-European Stoxx-50 rallied 0.79 percent. France’s CAC 40 gained close to half a percent. Gains for Switzerland’s SMI were modest at 0.30 percent.
Current indications from the European stock futures however indicate a negative sentiment. The CAC 40 Futures (Dec) is trading 0.24 percent lower. The pan-European Stoxx 50 Futures (Dec) has slipped 0.14 percent. The DAX Futures (Dec) is currently trading 0.10 percent lower. The FTSE 100 Futures (Dec) has edged down 0.08 percent. The SMI Futures (Dec) had finished 0.95 percent higher on Friday.
American stock futures indicate mild losses. The US 30 (DJIA) is trading 0.04 percent lower, whereas the US500 (S&P 500) is trading 0.20 percent lower.
Asian stock markets are trading on a mixed note as concerns about China as well as hopes of rate cuts by the Fed, both weighed on sentiment. India’s Nifty 50 has surged 1.5 percent. Australia’s S&P ASX 200 has rallied 0.73 percent. South Korea’s KOSPI has gained 0.48 percent. China’s Shanghai Composite has edged up 0.12 percent. DJ New Zealand has edged up 0.09 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has slipped 0.37 percent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 has dropped 0.68 percent.
The Dollar Index (DXY), a measure of the U.S. dollar’s strength relative to six currencies, edged up 0.07 percent to 103.34, from the previous close of 103.27. The EUR/USD pair has slipped 0.11 percent to 1.0869 whereas the GBP/USD pair has dropped 0.20 percent to trade at 1.2675.
Fueled by rising expectations of Fed rate cuts, gold futures jumped to a record high of $2,151.20 before dropping to its current level of $2,107.05, around 0.83 percent higher than the previous close of $2,089.70.
Amidst uncertainty regarding the OPEC+ supply cuts, crude oil prices are trading on a negative note. Brent Crude Futures for February settlement slipped 0.63 percent to $78.38 whereas WTI Crude Futures for January settlement dropped 0.58 percent to $73.64.
Balance of Trade data from Germany for the month of October is the key update for the day. Exports are seen rising by 1.1 percent whereas imports are expected to record a growth of 0.8 percent. Annual inflation update from Switzerland is expected to be steady at 1.7 percent. ECB’s Christine Lagarde’s speech at Paris is another major highlight for Monday. Also, British Retail Consortium would publish Retail Sales Monitor for the month of November. Germany’s New Car Registrations data is also due on Monday.
Earnings updates due on Monday from the region include chemicals business Victrex and media business Future.
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