Headlines:
Markets:
- GBP leads, JPY lags on the day
- lower European equality; S&P 500 futures up 0.2%
- US 10-year yield down 2.6 bps to 4.373%
- Gold up 0.5% to $2,662.73
- WTI crude fell 1.1% to $70.46
- Bitcoin rose 2.5% to $103,940
It's the last real trading week of the year! And what a great start it has been today in European morning trading.
The eurozone and UK PMI data releases were the main focus of the session but did little to influence markets.
With traders already largely convinced of an ECB rate cut next month and for the BOE to keep rates on hold this week, there was little for market players to explore even with a small hit on the data figures.
The euro barely moved but sterling moved slightly higher before giving most of that back. EUR/USD did not change much throughout, holding around 1.0500 with a big option ending in play. As for GBP/USD, the pair moved up to 1.2670 on the PMI data but then gave back most of the gains in a retreat to 1.2645 currently.
In addition, the dollar was largely unchanged against the rest of the major currencies. This is because broader markets remain more mixed and uncertain as well. USD/JPY moved slightly higher from 153.70 to 153.95 but the 10-year Treasury yield is down 2.6 bps to 4.373% on the day.
In the equity sector, European indices are broadly down in continuation of the sluggish sentiment from last week. Meanwhile, US futures are holding slightly higher but we are yet to get to the US PMI later in the day.
Overall, it's an uncertain start to the new week as all eyes are on key central bank decisions. The Fed will be the first in line but that won't come until Wednesday.
