📆 Monday, December 2
► European markets open lower as political uncertainty in France weighs on investor sentiment (especially for French equities). Futures for the Euro Stoxx 600 are down 0.15% as concerns about potential instability linger. Eurozone manufacturing data was weaker than expected this month. In France, the right-wing populist to extreme right-wing party Rassemblement National threatened to bring down the government in a dispute over the state budget, causing French bond futures to fall. The CAC 40 stock index in Paris also fell by 1.2% – SmartTrader chief analyst Robert Lindner had already warned in the previous week of the strong headwinds facing the already battered French stock market. The EUR weakened 0.6% as traders speculated on further interest rate cuts by the European Central Bank (ECB). ECB Governing Council member Martins Kazaks emphasised that the ECB should keep borrowing costs low amid stable inflation, putting further pressure on the euro.
► In the US, the USD gained 0.55% (DXY), supported by the aggressive comments of US President-elect Donald Trump, who spoke out against the efforts of the BRICS countries to create a rival currency to the USD. US Treasury yields inched up (+1bp for US 10-Y) as investors awaited key economic data such as the US manufacturing and labour market reports later this week. US equity futures were slightly down, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures down around 0.15%, as markets await fresh catalysts for the last month of trading in the year.
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