Dollar

Being a fan of the US central bank may not be strictly necessary, but closely following its monetary policy certainly is.

Financial markets started the week on the wrong foot, awaiting the outcome of a raft of events that will take place this week. High-level US-China trade talks and Wednesday’s FOMC meeting will be the main milestones. Additionally, a vote on May’s Brexit “plan B” along with the release of economic data in the US, Europe and China will also take investors’ attention.

Cautious mood seemed to prevail in markets. Today`s attention was on the euro zone due to the release of confidence data and the ECB meeting.  Meanwhile, despite the non-representation of the US administration in Davos, the US-China trade dispute continued in the forefront as the major players in the global economy pointed to this issue as a significant economic risk

Financial markets remained cautious. The focus continued on US-China trade talks following yesterday's rumours about the US rejection of pre-talks ahead of high-level meetings next week. However, the information has been denied by both sides. The Brexit issue also came into the limelight with the possibility of a delay, while the Davos forum continues.

Markets were little changed in a low volume trading session as US markets were closed. Today’s release of China’s 4Q18 GDP (early this morning) along with the release of May’s “plan B” on Brexit this afternoon will focus the market’s attention. The ECB meeting next Thursday, the World Economic Forum at Davos and multiple releases of economic data will be other key events

Markets were in a positive mood for the second week in a row. Recent news of further US-China trade talks by late January, coupled with China’s latest measures to boost its economy were the main drivers. The rejection of May’s Brexit plan and the vote of confidence that May was able to win have had only a mild impact on markets so far, awaiting for a Brexit "plan B”.

Financial markets were in a positive mood, although the focus remained on the UK. After yesterday's defeat in the parliamentary vote on May’s Brexit deal - by a huge margin - the scenarios around Brexit remain very open. The next milestone will be today’s no confidence vote on May, with the arithmetic in her favour.

Financial markets seemed to digest positively the recent announcement from China of potential stimulus measures – such as tax cuts - in order to support its economy amid the release of recent weak Chinese economic data. Investors’ focus will be mainly on today’s result of the vote in the UK parliament on May’s Brexit deal as the future UK-EU relationship is uncertain