Market opening: The FTSE-100 is expected to start this morning’s session around 59-points lower.
New York: Wall Street ended in the red, as investors remained concerned over slowdown in the global economy. Furthermore, low oil prices weighed heavily on investor sentiment. The S&P 500 fell 2.5%, with the consumer discretionary sector leading the laggards.
Asia: Equities are trading lower, taking negative cues from the huge sell-off in the Wall Street. The Nikkei 225 declined 2.7%, dragged down by the energy and machinery sectors. The drop in core machinery orders in Japan hurt investor sentiment. The Hang Seng was trading 1.0% down at 7:00 am.
Continental Europe: Markets ended mixed, as investors cheered better-than-expected trade data from China. Investors digested a mixed set of corporate earnings reported yesterday. France’s CAC 40 rose 0.3%, while Germany’s DAX fell 0.3%.
Crude Oil: Yesterday, Brent oil prices fell 1.8%, while WTI rose 0.1%. The spread between the two varieties stood at US$0.2 per barrel.
UK small caps: The FTSE AIM All-Share index closed 0.31% lower yesterday at 718.65. To read our latest research click here.
Today’s breakfast menu:
– Beaufort Securities on Tiziana Life Sciences – Speculative Buy; Ariana Resources – Speculative Buy; KEFI Minerals – Speculative Buy; Tullow Oil – Speculative Buy; Rockhopper Exploration – Speculative Buy; Barratt Developments – Buy; and Sainsbury – Hold
– US MBA mortgage applications
Today’s news
Eurozone industrial production falls in November
As per data released by Eurostat, the Eurozone’s industrial production declined 0.7% m-o-m in November, after a 0.8% increase in October, the largest monthly drop since August 2014. The decrease in output was led by the energy sector, which fell 4.3% during the month. On y-o-y basis, the industrial output grew 1.1%, which was slower than the 2% growth recorded in October