The European gradually became a bit more positive as Friday went on, though with the US open still looming those gains are far from set in stone.
The only real number of note this morning was the final Eurozone inflation reading for February, which unexpectedly came in at a 14 month low of 1.1%. Clearly whatever the ECB is doing to get that CPI figure creeping higher isn’t working, news that helped send the QE-hungry DAX and CAC up by 0.5% and 0.2% respectively; interestingly the euro was pretty sanguine in its reaction, rising 0.2% against the dollar and 0.1% against the pound.
As for the FTSE, it could only manage a 0.1% increase this Friday. The index is being held back in part by Berkeley Group (LON:BKGH) and the housebuilders, the former plunging nearly 5% after claiming that ‘market constraints’ means it can’t ramp up its production levels to match the targets set by the government. This update sent a ripple of concern through the rest of the sector, with Galliford Try (LON:GFRD) down 4.1%, Barratt Developments (LON:BDEV) down 1.4% and Taylor Wimpey (LON:TW) down 1.2%.
Turning to the US open and after an exhausting week for US political drama – with more on the horizon if the reports are correct that Trump is set to replace HR McMaster as national security adviser – the Dow Jones is looking all worn out. The Dow is facing a flat start to the US session, a move that would leave it the wrong side of 24600 and around 600 points off of where it started the week.
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