With England beating France in extra time in “le crunch” rugby game on Sunday, British diplomats will be hoping for another win while playing away in Brussels this morning.
Post-Brexit trade talks continue but with a EU summit scheduled for Thursday, time is running out to flatten divergences between the two sides. The pound is outwardly calm but options markets show some signs of nervousness.
European and U.S. shares are a touch weaker while broader Asian markets are flat despite Chinese November trade numbers showing the third monthly rise in imports and a 21% jump in exports, the biggest in almost three years.
Chinese stock markets slipped, weighed down by the escalating spat with the outgoing Trump adminstration. And will the 46% surge in exports to the U.S., further irk Washington?
The dollar is taking a break after several weeks of gradually weakening but much depends on the ECB’s Thurday meeting where it might signal its feelings about the euro’s run to 2-1/2-year highs.
And it is a time when economic stress is very palpable. Germany’s Lufthansa said it will have shed 29,000 staff by end-2020 and plans another 10,000 cuts in Germany next year. And with the COVID-19 deathtoll approaching 1.5 million globally, regions from Bavaria to Seoul to California are imposing tougher activity curbs.
Meanwhile M&A activity continues unabated. Cisco plans to buy UK software company IMImobile in a $730 million deal. Real estate firm Connells has raised its buyout offer for Countrywide by 30% while buyout group EQT is selling facilities manager Apleona for about 1.6 billion euros.
In the banking world, France’s Societe Generale and Credit du Nord are progressing with plans to merge retail banking operations.
Key developments that should provide more direction to markets on Monday:
-China trade/imports/exports and forex reserves
-German industrial output
-UK Halifax house prices
-Reuters Japan tankan index/household spending
-Chile central bank meeting
Reporting by Sujata Rao and Julien Ponthus