Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

European Open: Impeachment, Brexit Vote, Gold, Oil

Published 20/12/2019, 12:24
Updated 05/03/2019, 12:15

Europe Flat as UK MPs Prepare For Brexit Vote

European stocks once again find themselves facing a flat and muted open on Friday, with traders minds clearly on last minute panic shopping than revised growth numbers or consumer surveys.

It’s been quite a strange week, all things considered. The US President has been impeached, we’ve got a new UK government after it was confirmed around this time last week that the Conservatives have their biggest majority in decades and today, said government will likely pass the EU withdrawal bill.

And yet, this has largely been a week to forget as long as the markets are concerned. I guess when you remove all of the political theatre and strip it down to what what it all means, there’s nothing there that really moves the needle and ultimately, that’s all investors care about.

Trump won’t be impeached by members of his own Republican Party in the Senate, certainly not with a two thirds majority. The UK election result was priced in last week and with it, the passing of the bill. While this may be a forgetful week for the markets, it’s easy to forget it’s been far from a normal week, generally

It’s also been a data and central bank heavy week and even this has been overlooked to a certain extent. Today we’ll get revised GDP data from the UK, a German consumer survey, Canadian retail sales and some income, spending and inflation data from the US. Whether it will be in any way impactful is another thing. Oh, and the Brexit vote, of course.

US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin sought to assure investors that the phase one trade deal with China will be ready to sign at the beginning of January, after undergoing a “technical scrub”. I’m not quite sure what that means exactly, but hopefully this isn’t the same “done” as we were told in October because those final details took some time to iron out.

Gold coasting into the new year

It’s becoming more and more difficult to write about gold in any kind of interesting way. The yellow metal is coasting its way into the new year and nothing seems to be wobbling it. We’ve had a trade deal, an impeachment and new records in the stock markets and yet gold just shrugs it off. A break above $1,480 would certainly make things more interesting but I’m not optimistic the way things are going.

Oil extends winning run

Oil is having a strong end to 2019 and on Thursday extended its winning run to six days. Marginal gains are being squeezed out in early trade which may suggest the run is about to come to an end, but broadly speaking, there’s no lack of momentum in the oil rally yet. An OPEC+ deal, US-China trade deal and maybe even an improved global outlook have created quite the bullish case for oil recently and it seems traders think there’s more room to run.

Original Post

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.