North America
US stock futures are suggesting a modest fall at the open on Monday, despite positive moves in Asia. With the US trade delegation arriving in China on Monday, investors are pinning their hopes on some sort of measurable progress – but any deviation from January’s high hopes is likely to send Asia and US markets back into volatile territory.
Wednesday this week sees the release of US inflation numbers, retail sales data on Thursday as well as the University of Michigan sentiment index on Friday.
Cisco (CSCO) reports on Wednesday. Canada’s Manulife (MFC) is one of many firms listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange to report this week.
Among these are Burger King owner Canada’s Restaurants Brands (QSR).
Europe
Weaker than expected UK growth figures for Q4 dragged down the pound on Monday. GDP grew by 1.4% in 2018, the weakest since 2009. Third quarter growth in the UK economy was 0.6%, but this expansion dropped to 0.2% in the final three months of the year. December’s 0.4% contraction has also been flagged up by economists as a worrying trend.
Sterling has been above $1.32 this year but today it fell back below $1.29. Against the euro, the pound hit €1.16 in January but is now trading at €1.14.
Inflation is expected to have dropped back to the 2% target in January, with figures released at 930am on Wednesday morning.
In terms of FTSE 100 companies reporting this week, some notable names include AstraZeneca (AZN) on Thursday and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) on Friday.
Asia
Chinese markets roared back to life after a five-day break for Lunar New Year. The Shanghai Composite Index consolidated its position above 2,600 points with a gain of 1.3%. The CSI 300 was u nearly 2% on the previous close, ending at 3,306 points. With the US trade delegation arriving in China on Monday, investors are pinning their hopes on some sort of measurable progress – but any deviation from January’s high hopes is likely to send Asia and US markets back into volatile territory.
Chinese inflation is in view at the end of the week. On Thursday morning, Japan’s GDP data is published. The economy is expected to have expanded by 0.4% quarter on quarter, compared with a drop of 0.6% in the third quarter.