The Spanish stock market is soaring this morning after the Catalan leader, Carles Puigdemont has suspended his declaration of independence.
The announcement came yesterday after the European markets were closed, and this morning traders are using the opportunity to buy back into the Spanish market. The cooling of tensions and the return to political certainty in Spain is a big boost to investor confidence.
Shares in Dunelm Group are up 3.3% after the company posted a 9.3% jump in like-for-like (LFL) revenue, while the total revenue for the period was up 24.8%. The retailer stated it continues to ‘outperform’ in the homewares market, which is impressive as companies like DFS have been finding trading tough. Dunelm’s stock has hit a nine month high, and if the bullish sentiment continues it could target 816p – its 2017 high.
Provident Financial had its rating cut from equal weight to underweight by Barclays, and the bank lowered its price target to 584p from 600p. Yesterday Provident Financial was fined £75,000 by the regulator for sending out spam emails and texts to promote a credit card. The stock is down 4.9% today and it is still subdued after issuing two profits warnings over the summer.
Continued weakness in the US dollar has assisted the GBP/USD and EUR/USD. The greenback has slipped in the last few sessions as trader’s booked their profits. Also playing into the mix is the argument between Donald Trump and Senator Bob Corker as some fear it may derail the President’s tax proposals. It is not a major concern, but dealers don’t want it to be scuppered just how Senator John McCain prevented the health care reforms.
The Federal Reserve will reveal the minutes from last month’s meeting at 7pm. Traders will be interested to hear more details about the winding down of the balance, and listen out for clues in relation to future interest rate policy.
We are expecting the Dow Jones to open 9 points lower at 22,821, and we are calling the S&P 500 down 3 at 2547.
At 3pm the US will announce the job opening and labour turnover summary (JOLTS), and the consensus is for a reading of 6.13 million, and that compares with July’s reading of 6.17 million.
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