Five Things You Need to Know to Start Your Day
Five Things You Need to Know to Start Your Day
(Bloomberg) --
Good morning. The U.K. prime minister secured adjustments to her Brexit deal in Strasbourg, a rally in U.S. tech stocks fed through to Asia and an electricity crisis in Venezuela helped to lift crude oil futures. Here’s what’s moving markets this morning.
Time to vote
It’s on. The big vote is going ahead after a weary U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker announced in a late night press conference last minute changes to the divorce deal. The U.K. now has some authority to walk away from the infamous Irish backstop if the EU doesn’t do enough to replace it with a full trade deal in the future. It’s unclear exactly how much more parliamentary support the changes will be worth, but nonetheless, the pound jumped as much as 1 percent.
Follow my lead
Technology has been the driver of many down days in global stocks in recent months, but Monday was different, as the Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 2 percent, the most since Jan. 30. The move came after Bank of America recommended that clients buy shares of one of its biggest constituents, Apple Inc., as well as after a $6.9 billion deal in the semiconductor sector. The sentiment fed through to Asia, with stocks in the region headed for their biggest increase since January.
Blackout
An electricity crisis in Venezuela that’s threatening the power supply of millions of citizens is also hitting the oil market. The OPEC member’s crude output is slumping as the blackout makes it difficult to operate wells, a senior official at the country’s oil ministry said. Futures in New York rose as much as 0.6 percent after climbing 1.3 percent on Monday, also lifted by Saudi Arabian plans to extend deep supply curbs.
Mixed signals
How bad can it really be? Bearish bets against the euro are at the highest level since 2016, but while that could indicate more losses ahead, French bank Credit Agricole says it could also suggest the start of a rally, as all the bad stuff out there might already be priced in. The single currency has fallen about 1.8 percent against the dollar this year amid softer macro data that’s prompted many strategists to cut forecasts for European Central Bank interest rates.
Coming Up...
Expect a limited reaction from normally important U.K. data due out this morning, including trade balance and industrial production statistics, as focus remains firmly on tonight’s vote in Westminster. The main event in the U.S. today is consumer price statistics, after retail sales on Monday showed a stabilization during the first month of the year.
What We’ve Been Reading
This is what’s caught our eye over the past 24 hours.
- Zero Hedge says Facebook has begun banning users from sharing its posts.
- A hedge fund manager is selling his $21 million mansion.
- Cannabis drinks confront a serious buzz kill—they taste terrible.
- HSBC chases Asia's wealthiest with new ultra-high-net-worth team.
- What broke Venezuela’s economy and what could fix it.
- New York attorney general opens investigation of Trump projects.
- Brexit upheaval can’t dim U.K.’s allure for poorest EU workers.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Phil Serafino at pserafino@bloomberg.net
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