AM Analysis
Asian stocks climbed overnight
Asian stocks climbed overnight, following gains from Wall Street late Friday. Asian stocks were lifted by a jump in mainland Chinese shares and the regional index headed for its longest streak of gains since late 2013. Chinese stocks traded higher following speculation that Lunar New Year sales were strong. European shares are likely to follow suit, with the FTSE 100 indicating an 11 point higher open.
Economic data is fairly light at the start of the week ahead of a number of important speeches from BOE governor Mark Carney and Fed Chairman Janet Yellen. This Thursday marks the latest opportunity for Bank of England Governor to discuss interest rates in detail, with a number of economists predicting Carney to put the process of raising interest rates into motion. Set at 0.5 percent, a number of banks were predicting that the strongest growth since 2007 would prompt the U.K. to lift its benchmark rate in early 2015.
Gold rose to a two-week high, on track for the longest rally since October as US non-farm job data missed estimates on Friday. Silver is heading for the longest winning run since August.
– Lee Mumford
PM Analysis
The energy sector has taken a hit today
The energy sector has taken a hit today after energy secretary Ed Davey asked Ofgem to investigate the gas profits that have been reported by the 'big six'. Shares in Centrica (CNA), owner of British Gas, fell over 3% today after the letter to Ofgem Chief Executive Andrew Wright was revealed to the public -- leading the FTSE 100 fallers.
With small amounts of economic data released today, the markets are set to be relatively quiet, however this is to be short lived. Global investors are eagerly awaiting the hotly anticipated speech by Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen tomorrow to see if they can find any signs that the Fed are to raise it's main near 0% interest rate in the near future. Markets are expected to be quite jumpy as she testifies to the House Financial Services Committee as her words will influence investors' decisions and could potential cause a frenzy in global markets.
– Samuel Fox
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