FTSE Rally Withers on the Vine
Heading into the close, the FTSE 100 is 15 points lower, as caution regarding Fed policy persists.
- Markets stuck in a rut
- Caution over outlook for budget airlines
- 'Bremain’ camp firmly in the ascendancy
Predictions of further doom and gloom for equities have been
confounded today, as the market looks to recovery some early lost ground
and ends the session with only small losses. However, the fact that
Friday’s rally barely lasted minutes into the new week illustrates that
we are still stuck in the holding pattern that has dominated over the
past two weeks. The barrage of Fed speakers since Wednesday’s minutes
has not helped matters, but it would have been hard for policymakers to
improve on the minutes without explicitly committing themselves to a
vote for higher rates. With so little on the calendar for today most of
the action will be concentrated in the sessions later in the week.
Budget airlines easyJet and Ryanair have seen some modest buying on the
back of the latter’s results, but the worry that falling prices will hit
margins has dented enthusiasm, with Brexit also making its influence
felt here.
The Greek debt crisis continues to rumble along in the background, with
some signs of hope about a deal (and the usual grumbling about said deal
from the IMF). So far the Commission has managed to avoid any nasty
increase in tensions ahead of the key Brexit
vote, but this task could get trickier as the event itself looms. IG
clients are still firmly of the opinion that the ‘Remain’ camp will win
out, with the chance of such a victory for the status quo currently at
78% on the IG binary. It will take more than an attention-grabbing tour
of the UK by Boris to make a dent in this figure.
