A quiet start to the week following the President’s Day holiday in the US saw mixed performances among European equity markets overnight. There was however, a continued improvement in risk appetite as indicated by a further decline in the VIX “fear gauge”.
The impulse provided for today’s sessions is limited although markets are likely to get off to a positive start. The USD managed to show some stability following recent pressures, albeit at a low level, while gold prices remained supported above the key 200 day moving average level.
The main event today is the Bank of Japan policy decision which will be watched closely following yesterday’s release of disappointing Q4 GDP data.
The German February ZEW survey is also on tap, with a relatively stable reading likely to be registered although attention appears to be more on the new Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzie rather than on economic data.
Additionally UK inflation data for January is set to reveal that inflation has dropped below target highlighting that the BoE is going to be in no rush to hike policy rates over coming months
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