UK and European stock markets are set to start the week little changed, but as we enter the second week of December, traders will not want to miss out on a possible end of decade rally.
GFT is quoting the FTSE 100 index to open unchanged from Friday’s close, at a level of 5,322. The German DAX is called lower, down 5 points at 5,812, and the French CAC is forecast to open unchanged at 3,846.
A GOOD MONTH FOR SHARES
December is traditionally a good month for stocks, and signs on Friday that the jobs market in the US is healing certainly provide a sound foundation. Non-farm payrolls fell by only 11,000 jobs, an incredible number when you consider the forecasts were for a number as bad as 130,000.
The surprise number is sure to keep markets upbeat this week. The potential banana skin for shares is whether the good news translates into concerns that interest rates could be on the rise sooner than previously expected.
Coming up this week we have more key economic news releases including the Bank of England quantitative easing policy update on Thursday, and from the US we have Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke speaking today, consumer confidence out tomorrow and retail sales data on Friday.
Martin Slaney is director of global dealing operations at GFT.
