Ger30, UK100 and SP500 are CFD’s, written over the Dax30, Footsie100 and S&P500 Index futures:
In the pre-opening, the European markets were negotiating in different directions, after the attack that happened yesterday in Paris which aggravated an environment of quite uncertainty in two days of the presidential elections in the country, an event that has been accompanied by all Financial markets players. In fact, this election is highly uncertain given the complexity of the current situation and the fact that the polls point to four candidates with very close voting preferences. Last week saw an increase in put options on the Eurostoxx 50, signaling that several institutional investors have used these financial instruments to protect their portfolios from hypothetical adverse scenarios. In other words, several investors have already reduced their exposure to French assets, anticipating the occurrence of hypothetical unfavorable scenarios.
The US market ended on a positive note, favored by the published results and the statements of the Secretary of the Treasury. Steven Mnuchin has made some comments where he anticipated that the administration of Donald Trump intends to advance with tax cuts “very soon” in the context of a “big tax reform.” One of the sectors that performed better today was the financial one, animated by the gains of American Express, after having presented a EPS of 1.34 USD, above the expected 1.28 USD, due to the higher expenses incurred by credit card holders. In terms of economic indicators, the number of weekly applications for unemployment benefits increased to 244 000, up from the expected 240 000. The Conference Board reported that the economy’s advanced indicators increased by 0.40% in March, from 0.20%, but below the 0.50% recorded in February. On the other hand, the index of activity of the Philadelphia Fed fell back in April, but after having reached in February the maximum of the last 33 years. This index from 32.80 in March to 22.00.
Asian markets rallied, benefiting from Wall Street closures and despite growing geopolitical fears over the Paris bombing.