European markets are trading lower on Tuesday, in the last trading session of 2019. Financial markets in Germany, Italy and Switzerland are closed today. Earlier today, Asian stocks were mostly lower despite the official China manufacturing PMI for December came in slightly above expectations. Still, a number of European benchmark stock indices are on course to log their best year in over ten years.
Against this backdrop, UK’s FTSE 100 sheds 0.24 per cent to 7,569, Italy’s FTSE MIB sheds 1.06 per cent to 23,506, France’s CAC 40 loses 0.06 per cent to 5,978, while German DAX 30 declined by 0.66 per cent to 13,249. U.S. stock index futures point to a higher open after the recent correction from all-time highs.
In currencies, the greenback remains under a decent selling pressure across the board. EURUSD jumped to 1.1220 yesterday and continues to cling to the 1.12 handle on Tuesday. There are no any significant drivers behind the move – just the year-end positioning. GBPUSD has been rising for the fifth day on a row, extending the upside correction from lows at 1.29. Apart from a dollar sell-off, the pair is supported by easing investor concerns over a possible no-deal Brexit.
Meanwhile, USDJPY has been nursing steep losses for a third straight day. The pair dipped below the 200-DMA and registered more than two-week lows around 108.55. The next bearish target now comes around 108.20. Once below this support zone, the technical picture will deteriorate significantly. However, the dollar will likely manage to hold above the 108.00 handle and resume the upside move amid the optimism over a phase one trade deal.
As for oil market, Brent resumed the bullish bias after some limited downside attempts earlier in the day. On Monday, the futures registered fresh September highs around $67.56 and attracted profit taking. However, the prices managed to hold above the $66 handle and now makes further bullish attempts, which confirms the strength of the current upside trend.
Nathan Lambert, Head of Global FX Analytical Department