European markets were on a rally last Friday with the ECB and the Federal Reserve’s bond purchase programs driving the markets. ECB’s announcement has clearly boosted optimism in Europe which saw the Euro rally to four month highs.
After an informal summit of EU finance ministers, over the weekend in Cyprus, international lenders sent out a strong signal that debt ridden countries in the Eurozone would be given more time to meet their repayment targets. The Troika’s report on Athens made it clear that the international rescue package is expected to be delivered in Greece.
However, this morning most of the European indices opened lower. The Xetra DAX was down by 12 points, trading at 7399 and the French CAC40 index was also trading lower by 16 points at 3564.
London FTSE Snapshot
The London FTSE100 opened lower this morning with traders continuing to assess the recent Federal Reserve stimulus package that was announced last week. The news which clearly triggered a spike in the European stock indices however didn’t manage to keep the stocks steady. The London FTSE100 opened at 5900, down by 15 points, in tune with rest of its counterparts in Europe which also opened lower.
The markets are clearly concerned with the divisions within the Eurozone with opponents to the European Banking Union is getting more difficult with countries like Germany, Sweden and the UK staunchly opposed to the move.
Mining sector is also weighing down on the index with ENRC being the worst performer in the morning, besides Anglo American and Rio Tinto which saw their stocks dip in the early trading session.
Market News – Asia
Monday’s trading session in Asia was mixed after strong advances last week from the US Fed’s stimulus package to boost the economy drove the Asian markets. Hang Seng increased 0.62% while Australia’s ASX was 0.26% stronger. The Shanghai Composite Index remained flat.
Market News – US
There is not much of economic data scheduled today from the US, with the exception of the manufacturing survey from New York which will be the focus. The NY State Manufacturing data showed a contraction in the region for the first time since October last year, so a deeper reading today could be alarming. Investor’s appetite to build up positions based on last week’s Federal Reserve’s announcement is likely to be the one driving the markets in today’s session.
In the US, Friday saw the Dow Jones Industrial rise by 53 points to close at 13593, while the Nasdaq managed to add 28 points to close at 3184. The S&P500 index closed higher by 6 points at 1466.
