The Markets
Market opening: The FTSE-100 is expected to start this morning’s session around 42-points higher.
New York: Wall Street ended in the green after a volatile trading session yesterday. The stabilization of the Chinese yuan lifted investor sentiment. However, falling oil prices continued to weigh on investors. The S&P 500 advanced 0.8%, led by the information technology sector.
Asia: Equities are trading higher, tracking the gains made in Wall Street. Moreover, better-than-expected export data from China (in terms of the yuan) boosted investor confidence. The Nikkei 225 gained 2.9%, while the Hang Seng was trading 2.3% up at 7:00 am.
Continental Europe: Markets ended higher, shrugging off the losses made in the previous sessions. Investors cheered the minor improvement in the Chinese equity market. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 rose 1.6% and 1.5%, respectively.
Crude Oil: Yesterday, WTI and Brent prices decreased 3.1% and 2.2%, respectively. The spread between the two varieties stood at US$0.4 per barrel.
UK small caps: The FTSE AIM All-Share index closed 0.11% higher yesterday at 720.87. To read our latest research click here.
Today’s breakfast menu:
– Beaufort Securities on Kibo Mining – Speculative Buy; Xtract Resources – Speculative Buy; Ilika – Speculative Buy; Venn Life Sciences Holdings – Speculative Buy; Boohoo.com – Buy and IP Group – Buy
– UK industrial production; and UK manufacturing production
Today’s news
China’s exports improve in December
In December 2015, China’s exports (denominated in the yuan) rose 2.3% y-o-y, the first increase since June 2015, beating expectations of a 4.1% fall. On the other hand, China’s imports declined 4% in December 2015, beating forecasts of a 7.9% fall. China registered a 1.8% y-o-y fall in exports for 2015 and a 13.2% y-o-y decline in imports.