As far as UK assets are concerned the main events of the day will likely come this evening, after the stock market here in London has closed, with parliament set for two key votes on Brexit. MPs will first vote on a second reading of the withdrawal agreement, with the consensus believing that the government will secure a narrow victory - which if it occurs would be the first time that MPs have back any Brexit deal.
However, as is often the case with most things Brexit-related this isn’t straight forward and even if it passes there’s a fair chance that a vote on the timetable shortly afterwards will fail. Several MPs have already voiced their displeasure at the lack of time to scrutinise the bill, and if they vote down the program motion this would make the time-frame incredibly tight for the UK to leave the EU by the end of the month.
Should this play out then it would come as little surprise if the PM moved swiftly and attempt to call a general election, although this may well also be frustrated until an extension is guaranteed. If the whole Brexit process has taught us anything it is that trying to predict the next political development is something of a fool's errand and while the markets seem to remain cautiously optimistic that a deal could still come to pass, it would not be at all surprising if we see a relatively subdued day’s trade in UK assets as market participants await greater clarity before committing to any high conviction positions.
The pound has dipped a little but remains well supported on the whole and not too far from recent highs.
The FTSE 100 is edging a little higher and attempting to move back to the 7200 handle with Just Eat (LON:JE) the standout performer. Shares have rallied by over 20% after the delivery firm rejected a hostile £4.9B takeover bid from Prosus, with the cash offer of 710p/share representing a 20% premium on the recent 594p/share bid from takeaway.com. The prospect of a bidding war is buoying the stock which trades above 730p/share at the time of writing.