Market Analytics and Considerations
Key Notes
Investors’ attention will be on the release of U.S. inflation data later in the afternoon and what it implies for interest rate forecasts when European stock markets start on Tuesday.
At 2:00 ET (07:00 GMT), the FTSE 100 futures contract in the United Kingdom increased by 0.2%, the CAC 40 futures in France increased by 0.4%, and the DAX futures contract in Germany traded 0.2% higher.
The U.S. consumer price index for November is projected to indicate a reduction in the annualized rate, to 7.3% from 7.7% the preceding month, while the core inflation remains steady at 0.3%. Global stock markets are mainly in a steady position prior of this report.
When the Federal Reserve closes its most recent policy-setting meeting on Wednesday, speculators may be hesitant to start easing up on their ambitious rate rises because of the risks of the further rises in borrowing costs harming economies and indicators of inflation lingering at high levels.
In Europe, the U.K. claimant count grew by 30,500 in November, and the rate of unemployment rose to 3.7% in October from 3.6% in September as the employment market started to feel the effects of the downturn in consumer expenditure.
In November, the main annual German CPI statistic decreased from October’s 10.4% to a final reading of 10.0%.
Ahead of the European Central Bank meeting scheduled for Thursday, traders will also be paying close attention to the German ZEW economic confidence survey, which is predicted to indicate a slight rise in optimism in the region’s largest economy.
In the business news, National Grid (LON:NG) will be in the spotlight as it reportedly cancelled contingency notices at two coal units late Monday thanks to strong nuclear generation and wind speeds after earlier in the day requesting for assistance as a cold snap seized the U.K.
As the Keystone pipeline between the United States and Canada remained halted, concerns about a tightening supply led to an extension of gains in crude oil prices from the previous day.
By 2:00 ET, Brent crude prices were up 1.5% to $79.15 a barrel, while U.S. crude futures were 1.4% higher at $74.16 a barrel. The prior session saw a greater than 2% increase for both benchmarks.
Moreover, gold futures increased by 0.3% to $1,796.50/oz, as well as the EUR/USD traded 0.1% firmer at 1.0560.
