Spreadex Market Update

European markets lose lustre whilst cable falls following last night’s Fed meeting minutes




Avoiding the kind of declines seen in the Eurozone the FTSE managed to hold onto its title as the day’s best performing major index, though it came to mean little as the morning continued. A gradual shrinking of Brent Crude’s gains caused the oil sector to soften up, whilst the mining stocks suffered as copper slipped below $2.11 per pound.

Not that it was all bad news; Marks & Spencer held onto its post-update, start of Steve Row-era gains, whilst home furnishings firm Dunelm jumped by nearly 4.5% thanks to a stellar set of third quarter figures. Sainsbury’s, meanwhile, rose around 2% as it revealed the latest step in customer-friendly focus, ending its price match scheme to instead cut the price of everyday items like bread and cleaning products.

Helping drag the European markets lower is the prospect of an 70 point fall when the Dow Jones opens this afternoon, with investors arguably reacting poorly to last night’s Fed meeting minutes. For whilst an April rate rise seems firmly off the table, the fact that there appears to be a slight increase in the number of hawks in the central bank (with some members open to an April hike) may have spooked investors, whilst boosting the dollar against an already weak pound, cable falling nearly half a percent as the morning continued. There is little on the agenda this afternoon (bar the usual Thursday jobless claims) to shift sentiment, the day’s main event a panel including Janet Yellen and her former Fed chair colleagues Ben Bernanke, Paul Volcker and Alan Greenspan later this evening.

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