Indices Remain Vulnerable After Entering Correction
US futures are trading slightly in the green ahead of the open on Friday, a day after stock markets once again tumbled leaving indices in correction territory.
As we saw on Thursday, this isn’t necessarily indicative of calm returning to the markets. The Dow recorded declines of more than 1,000 points for the second time this week, having never done so before, despite futures prior to the open being relatively unchanged on the previous days close.
Clearly there remains a lot of volatility and nervousness in the markets and I don’t expect this to ease up heading into the weekend. Stock markets will likely remain vulnerable to further shocks heading into today’s close and possible even next week. That said, with a 10% correction having now completed, I wonder whether investors will now start looking to buy the dips as the fundamental backdrop remains strong.
US Congress Passes Funding Bill Ending Brief Government Shutdown
On a more positive note, the House and the Senate approved a new funding bill in the early hours of Friday morning that will see the government through to 23 March and increase spending limits for two years, ending a showdown that came into effect overnight.
Markets haven’t been too concerned about the prospect of a shutdown since the start of the year despite two having now taken place so I don’t expect to see any boost now that a deal has been reached. This is merely just another self-inflicted risk that’s been temporarily averted.
Sterling Dips After Worrying Manufacturing Data
It’s a slightly quieter day in terms of notable economic events. The Canadian jobs data will be of interest given that the central bank has been relatively aggressively raising interest rates over the last six months. The UK GDP estimate from NIESR will also be of interest, given that the pound has continued to rise even as the economy experiences a notable slowdown.
The manufacturing and industrial production figures from the UK this morning showed another dip in December, with the latter in particular experiencing no year on year growth. Given that these are among the areas that have benefited since the referendum, it may be a minor concern. The pound dipped after the releases having failed to hold above 1.40 against the dollar in recent days.
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