European update – Markets slip on US holiday

Late US selling weighs on sentiment

With the US celebrating the Thanksgiving bank holiday on Thursday, markets should be a lot quieter heading into the weekend even with much of the news flow coming from Europe.

The market bounce didn’t last too long, with some late selling in the US session possibly worrying investors and weigh on sentiment today. It’s never encouraging when investors lock in profits heading into the close before a bank holiday or weekend, particularly on the back of a period of weakness in the markets and when confidence is already shaky at best.

Naturally, the bank holiday in the US leaves us with barely any market events of note for the rest of the day, with eurozone consumer confidence and a speech from BoE policy maker Michael Saunders the only notable items. Even these are unlikely to have much, if any, impact on the markets which means focus will be entirely on the political landscape with Europe providing plenty of drama to compensate for the lack of activity.

DAX dips as volatility continues in stock markets

UK and EU strike agreement on future relationship

Brussels has been at the centre of the drama again this week, with Theresa May visiting on Wednesday but failing to finalise the terms of the future relationship ahead of the EU summit on Sunday. Reports this morning though claim these details have been cleared up and a draft text on future ties has been agreed which has pushed sterling up close to 1% against the dollar.

GBPUSD Daily Chart

OANDA fxTrade Advanced Charting Platform

Unfortunately for May, this is the easy bit, now she must sell the exit agreement to her own parliament. Given the level of criticism her deal has received from across the board – be it leavers, remainers, Conservatives, their DUP partners, Labour, the SNP – this is no easy task, with the only thing going for it being that it is better than the only other currently viable alternative, no deal.

Italy under pressure after EC rejects budget proposal

Italy remains a cause for concern despite its markets doing ok yesterday in the aftermath of the European Commission rejecting its budget and pursuing an excessive deficit procedure which could lead to sanctions. There may have been a “buy the rumour, sell the fact” element to yesterday’s trade given how expected the outcome was, but today they are coming under some pressure again as the government continues to show defiance in the face of sanctions and market pressure.

Currencies mixed ahead of Thanksgiving holiday

Oil under pressure after another inventory build

Oil is trading more than 1% lower again today, failing to build on yesterday’s bounce on the back of another inventory build being reported by EIA. With oil now trading around 30% below its highs, momentum does appear to be easing for now which may provide some support for WTI and Brent. The pair may find some support now around $50 and $62, respectively, with the OPEC+ meeting only a couple of weeks away which could have significant near-term implications for the price.

Oil (WTI and Brent) Daily Chart

Economic Calender

For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out our economic calendar.

Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.