It has been a lacklustre trading session as not much happened in Asia overnight so traders in Europe have been left uninspired. A lack of major geopolitical news has caused market volatility to be low. If markets are moving aggressively in one direction or the other, it often sparks interest from other dealers to get involved as the fear of missing out kicks in.
Well, in today’s case, the lack of movement more failed to entice other traders off the fence. The German market is closed and seeing as one of the major players in Europe is shut, it adds to the muted mood.
A report in one national newspaper covering the UK retail sector, claimed that footfall last weekend at high street stores and shopping centres declined by 8% compared with the last period last year. Online shopping is taking off so it is likely the likes of ASOS (LON:ASOS) and Boohoo have performed well while firms that have a relatively small portion of their revenue derived from online sales are likely to underperform. Groups like Ted Baker (LON:TED) and Next have caught up in recent years as they are less dependent on stores for sales.
NMC Health (LON:NMC) shares are in the red this morning in the wake of the massive rally that we saw yesterday – where it gained more than 35%. It would appear that traders are banking some profits. Volatility is likely to taper off until the findings of the independent review are published. The fact the firm commissioned an outside review implies they don’t have any skeletons in their closet.
GBP/USD is slightly lower after enduring a sizeable fall yesterday as traders continue to take money off the table as far as the pound is concerned. After a three month rally, the mood surrounding the pound has turned. The election is behind us, and looking to the New Year, the UK is set to leave the EU in a matter of weeks, and it will then enter the transition period. Dealers are already preparing themselves for the chatter of a no-deal situation – but even if that does happen that would be one year away.
Boeing (NYSE:BA) shares are likely to remain in focus on the back of yesterday’s news that Dennis Muilenburg departed as CEO. The 737 Max scandal has been acting as a weight on the company for the past year, and the aircraft manufacturer is determined to rid of the negative image.
We are expecting the Dow Jones to open 25 points higher at 28,576 and we are calling the S&P 500 up 2 point at 3,226.
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