The FTSE continued to give back a chunk of Tuesday’s growth, with a grim set of commodity stocks and sterling’s Brexit breakthrough-inspired rise giving the UK index a headache.
Though the pound’s gains against the dollar have cooled ever so slightly, cable is still trading above $1.34 at a 2 month high; as for against the euro, sterling has only beefed up since the session began, and is tickling a 3 week peak of €1.132. Combine this with 1.6% and 1.4% declines for BP (LON:BP) and Shell (LON:RDSa) – both oil giants are getting nervy ahead of the week’s latest OPEC meeting – and set of mining stocks fretting over Chinese demand and the FTSE plunged 50 points as the day went on.
In the eurozone the region’s indices grew in confidence as lunchtime approached, as the euro shed its gains against the dollar and continued to fall against the pound. The DAX is now up 1% and only a handful of points away from 13200, with the CAC jumping 0.6% and the IBEX 35 rocketing 1.4%.
Turning to the US open and the Dow Jones is, predictably, set to start at a fresh all-time high. In fact, the Dow is a sneeze away from the 23900 landmark, after adding 250 points on Tuesday as Trump secured a Senate Budget Committee victory for his tax plan by cajoling the dissenting Republicans to vote along party lines. And the index could get some further good news before the bell, with the 2nd estimate US Q3 GDP reading set to be revised from 3.0% to 3.3% at the annualised rate.
Disclaimer: Spreadex provides an execution only service and the comments above do not constitute (or should not be construed as constituting) investment advice or recommendations, or a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. Any person placing trades based on their interpretations of the above comments does so entirely at their own risk. Spreadex Ltd is a financial and sports spread betting and sports fixed odds betting firm, which specialises in the personal service and credit area. Founded in 1999, Spreadex is recognised as one of the longest established spread betting firms in the industry with a strong reputation for its high level of customer service and account management.
In relation to spread betting, Spreadex Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Spread betting carries a high level of risk to your capital and can result in losses larger than your initial stake/deposit. It may not be suitable for everyone, so please ensure you fully understand the risks involved. In relation to fixed odds, Spreadex Ltd is licensed and regulated by the Gambling Commission under licence number."