Stocks are climbing across the globe, from Tokyo to London this morning, alongside U.S. Futures, in a move boosted by a few different factors. Firstly, traders have welcomed President Trump’s suspension of his planned new tariffs on Mexico, bringing a more peaceful tone to the talks between the two neighbours. Even though the trade issues between the two countries are significantly different from the dispute between the US and China, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin provided investors with reassuring words by saying major progress may take place during the next G-20 summit in Osaka at the end of the month.
Photo by Adi Constanin
This optimistic tone has also been boosted by solid Chinese data overnight: the Trade Balance came out at 41.65B (vs 20.5B expected) while Chinese exports grew by 1.1% (vs -3.8% expected). However, trading volumes are lower than usual as many exchanges (including Frankfurt) are closed for a bank holiday.
In the UK, the race for the General Election starts today and the list of candidates who will run for the position of Prime Minister is supposed to be finalized by the end of the day. Currency traders remain slightly worried after seeing Boris Johnson gaining momentum over the weekend. The former Mayor of London said he would exit the EU with or without deal in October if he was in charge, making a no-deal more likely. From a technically point of view: the FTSE-100 index is trading towards a 1-month high, around 7,370.0pts, helped by a weaker pound. Today’s challenge will be to clear the 7,375.0pts level in order to unlock a bullish extension to 7,385.0pts then 7,415.0pts.
Photo by Alexander Andrews
