Stocks Rally As Rebound Continues

European stocks are higher today as trader’s levels of optimism rise. The strong finish in the US last night and in Asia overnight have given traders the green light to continue buying back into the equity markets. The bullish momentum is growing, and the higher equity markets rise, the more it encourages other investors to jump on the bandwagon.

Segro shares are up 6.6% after the company stated that adjusted profits jumped by 26%. The company which specialises in industrial property owns £8 billion worth of warehouse in Europe. The rise of online shopping has helped push up demand for warehouses, and hit turned helped Segro. Rental incomes grew in the UK, while declined in Continental Europe, but overall group rental revenue rose by 2.6%. The stock has been in a solid upward trend since June 2016, and if the bullish moves continues it could target 600p.

Balfour Beatty (LON:BALF) is a part of a joint venture that won a $1.95 billion contract to build and operate an ‘above ground airport transport system’ at LA international airport. The construction company had a difficult time in 2014, but after a tough restructuring programme they bounced back, and now they are undertaking major international projects. The stock is up 1.5%.

GBP/USD had a muted reaction to the underwhelming UK retail sale figures. On a month-on-month basis British retail sales grew by 0.1% in January, while the consensus was for 0.5%. The annual growth rate was 1.6%, which was well below the 2.5% forecast.

EUR/USD reached a new three year high this morning as the continued weakness in the greenback has propped up the single currency. The US dollar index fell to a new three-year low, which tells us how pessimistic traders are on the currency.

At 1.30pm (UK time) the US will announce the latest housing starts, and the consensus is for 1.23 million, and that would be an improvement on the previous report of 1.19 million.

We are expecting the Dow Jones to open up 133 points at 25,333 and we are calling the S&P 500 up 13 points at 2744.

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