Europe opened marginally lower with the FTSE100 down 0.5% and DAX 0.7% with oil prices weakening from their 2016 highs. DAX has fallen through the 10,000 level once again this year.
UK quick round up:
U.K. house prices rose 1.3% MoM (vs +2.9% in February) and 7.6% YoY (vs +7.3% in February) in March, according to Rightmove Plc (LON:RMV).
South Africa’s Steinhoff International (DE:SNHG) announced its withdrawal from the bidding for Home Retail (LON:HOME), which puts Sainsbury’s (LON:SBRY) in good contention for the company.
Smiths Group (LON:SMIN) is negotiating the acquisition of Safran's (LON:0IU8) security-scanner unit for appx. £470M, reported the Sunday Times.
Global News
Asian stocks fell on Monday after three consecutive weeks of gains as a retreat in oil prices made investors cautious, but losses were tempered by hopes that China may soon cut interest rates again as pressure on the yuan eases. Japanese markets were closed for a holiday.
Oil was down for a second session on concerns over a supply glut after the U.S rig count rose for the first time since December. WTI oil lost 1.7%, to $38.77 a barrel. Brent crude’s front-month contract was down 33 cents at $40.87. It hit a high of $42.54 a barrel in the last session. Gold for April delivery ticked down 0.03% to $1,253.90 a troy ounce. Silver futures eased 0.13% to $15.790 a troy ounce.
In US equities the S&P 500 closed positive for the year on Friday for the first time in 2016 as the U.S. Fed’s dovish tone and a strengthening economic outlook compelled investors to take on more risk. The S&P 500 gained 0.44%, to 2,049.56. Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) and JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) each climbed about 2.9% after the companies announced share buyback programs. Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) rose 3.8% after the Photoshop maker raised its full-year profit and revenue forecasts above expectations.
Global Market Data:
UK : Mar Rightmove House Prices MoM
EC 10:00: Jan ECB Current Account SA
EC 10:00: Jan Current Account NSA
UK 12:00: Mar CBI Trends Total Orders, exp.: -14
UK 12:00: Mar CBI Trends Selling Prices
US 13:30: Feb Chicago Fed Nat Activity Idx, exp.: 25%
US 15:00: Feb Existing Home Sales, exp.: 5.31M
US 15:00: Feb Existing Home Sales MoM, exp.: -2.9%
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