It was a very mixed morning for the UK markets, as the lingering negativity arising from Carillion’s (LON:CLLN) collapse combined with the final inflation figures from 2017.
With after-shock of Carillion’s liquidation announcement continuing to ripple through the UK economy the FTSE struggled to regain the momentum it had last week. Yet the UK index still managed to nudge 0.1% thanks to the 0.3% decline seen by cable, with sterling slipping as December’s inflation reading came in as expected at 3.0% against the 3.1% in November
Of course it’s too early to tell whether this is a blip or the start of a gradual reversal of the wage-eating inflation seen in the second half of 2017. That ambiguity likely explains why the pound pulled back from its post-Brexit referendum highs against the greenback, but pushed 0.1% higher against the euro.
Granted the euro is in retreat across the board, falling from Monday’s 3 year high against the dollar after dropping 0.4%. This shift has green-lit some hefty gains for the DAX, which surged 1% to sit a handful of points away from 13350.
Looking to the US open, and after resting up on MLK Day the Dow Jones is set to resume its record-breaking climb, with the index likely to cross the 26000 mark when the bell rings on Wall Street. Data-wise there’s not much of interest beyond the Empire State manufacturing index, which is forecast to rise from 18.0 to 18.5 month-on-month.
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