Despite oil hitting a 3-month high, and the lingering tang of trade talks optimism, the markets weren’t too keen to get back to work on Monday.
The FTSE was the laziest of the European indices, backsliding by 0.2%. With another week of Brexit limbo on the cards – Theresa May is off to Brussels once again, trying to re-negotiate the EU’s non-negotiables, leaving the various Tory factions to seethe back home – and the absence of the US markets this afternoon thanks to Presidents’ Day, there was little real impetus for the UK index to move any higher, especially given it ended last week at a fresh 4-month peak.
The pound was only slightly more energetic. Against both the dollar and the euro it rose 0.1%, nearing $1.29 against the former while holding above €1.141 against the latter. Brexit-surprises aside, sterling’s big moment this week is Tuesday’s UK jobs report, so Monday might see the currency stuck in a bit of a holding pattern.
Those looking to the eurozone for a smidge more excitement were out of luck. Though there is plenty of data for the region to chew on this week, with any figures from the flagging economies of Germany and Italy of special interest, none of the good stuff is on Monday, leaving the DAX down 0.1% and the CAC unchanged at 5150.
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