(30 NOVEMBER 2018)DAILY MARKET BRIEF 2:EU shares hold, despite trade tension

On the verge of closing the week in positive territory following two negative weeks, European equities are trading in negative territory. Investors hope a deal on the Italian budget is coming, as the Italian lower house of parliament is expected to vote on 3-4 December on the 2019 budget plan. Procedural sanctions from the EU Commission are not expected to come into effect before January, leaving a little room for Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte to secure agreement from deputies Matteo Salvini and Luigi Di Maio. We don’t expect the Italian Eurosceptic coalition to make large concessions. Despite a positive closing for Asian shares in advance of the G20 summit, European indexes are heading lower on Friday. The Euro Stoxx 50 is trading at -0.28%, UK FTSE 100 -0.53%, French CAC 40 -0.42% and German DAX -0.42%. EUR/USD is losing ground, trading at 1.1386 (-0.06% intraday) and heading along 1.1350 short-term.