Knockout week for markets
It’s going to be a very interesting week for financial markets, with an abundance of major economic events to come as well as earnings and trade talks between the world’s two largest economies.
The week gets off to a slightly quieter start and yet we still have inflation – core PCE, the Fed’s preferred measure – income and spending data to come from the U.S. We’ll also get earnings from a dozen or so S&P 500 companies, including Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) which reports after the market close. In any other week, this is probably the standout day but this week, not so much. There’s much more to come in what is going to be a knockout week, after which we should have a much clearer view of where markets stand.
Inconclusive election drives under-performance in IBEX
One of the more overshadowed events this week has already come and gone, although the result appears to be weighing on the country’s index, the IBEX. The Spanish election produced an inconclusive result which comes as a surprise to no one and yet, does appear to be acting as a drag on the index.
The Socialists were the clear winners over the weekend but remain some way from securing a majority in the 350-seat Congreso de los Diputados, which means negotiations will now commence. There are a number of things one could point to in order to explain the Spanish under-performance today – the prospect of a more left-leaning coalition, entry of VOX – a far right party – into Parliament – but the size of it suggests there’s little really to this.