Spreadex Market Update

Brent Crude crosses $42 per barrel with FTSE and Dow at 2016 highs




Back at its year highs the FTSE was the main beneficiary from oil’s ongoing rebound, climbing nearly 40 points as Brent Crude crossed $42 per barrel for the first time since mid-December (increasing over $12 per barrel since its mid-January nadir). Oil wasn’t the only commodity seeing a recovery this Friday, copper touching $2.30 per pound for the first time since last November. Combine the two and the UK’s oil and mining stocks looked fairly flush as the day continued, Tullow Oil and Anglo American leading the gains with 2.4% and 3.4% jumps respectively.

Whilst not quite at the 2016 highs seen by their UK peer the Eurozone indices nevertheless began to regain some of yesterday’s losses as the day continued, the DAX up nearly half a percent with the CAC slightly more verdant with a 0.6% rise. Beyond the general shift in sentiment the Eurozone indices likely benefited from Peter Praet’s comments this morning; as a senior member of the ECB his claim that the central back could still cut rates or use ‘helicopter money’ if the current stimulus proves to be insufficient carries significant weight, reassuring investors that the ECB hasn’t emptied its tool box with the measures it revealed earlier in the month.

Currently looking at a 0.2% rise when the bell rings on Wall Street the Dow Jones has seen a remarkable recovery in the last 5 weeks, the index gaining nearly 2000 points since it hit its mid-February nadir to reach a level not seen since New Year’s Eve. There is little to test the Dow this Friday; the preliminary UoM consumer sentiment is expected improve to 92.1 (with last month already being revised up to 91.7), whilst speeches from FOMC members William Dudley, Eric Rosengren and James Bullard should give further insight into the central bank’s mind-set following its surprisingly dovish statement on Wednesday evening.


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