Stock markets in Europe are in positive territory as the sentiment is positive across the board for a change.
The FTSE 100 have been edging lower this week, and now are we seeing a bounce back, which is being helped along by mining and health care stocks.
Carpetrightissued a profit warning and the share price has collapsed. The retailer stated total sales for the 11 weeks until mid-January fell by 2.3%. The crucial post-Christmas trading period was significantly below forecasts. The share price has fallen to an all-time low which sums up how bearish the sentiment is. Shares in Kingfisher and DFS Furniturehave been dragged lower on the back of the Carpetright news.
Morgan Stanley upgraded their rating on easyJet to overweight from equal weight. The bank upped their target price from 1490p to 1725p, and the stock is currently trading at 1558p, up 2.9% on the day.
GBP/USD initially sold-off after the UK released retail sales figure that were well below market expectations, but the currency pair rebounded. In December on a month-on-month basis UK retail sales fell by 1.5%, while the market was expecting a drop of only 0.6%. Annually the figure increased by 1.4%, while the consensus was for a 3% jump.
EUR/USD is edging higher as the US dollar continues to grind lower. The euro has been enjoying a positive run against the US dollar since November and it appears the trend is likely to continue. German producer price index (PPI) came in 2.3% in December, meeting expectations.
At 1.30pm (UK time) the US will announce the University of Michigan consumer sentiment report, and traders are anticipating a reading of 97, which would be an increase on the December reading of 96.8.
Schlumberger will release its quarterly results later today.
We are expecting the Dow Jones to open up 14 points at 26,031, and we are calling the S&P 500 up 4 points at 2802.
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