Reuters Insider - UK Day Ahead: Stocks end on a high, but for sterling it's the nightmare before Christmas
26/12/2019 11:39
Click the following link to watch video: https://share.insider.thomsonreuters.com/link?entryId=1_wt57m57e&referenceId=1_wt57m57e&pageId=ReutersNews Source: Reuters Insider Description: European equities ended the session at near three year highs as the holiday lull gets into full swing. The STOXX 600 closed the session near an all time high ...helped by optimism about the global economy. But for the pound it truly was the nightmare before Christmas. It's slipped to three-week lows as the market braces for more uncertainty after the United Kingdom officially leaves the European Union in January. Short Link: https://tmsnrt.rs/2EMyXmE Video Transcript: Good afternoon. I’m Oliver Regan. Welcome to your wrap-up of today’s events, to look at what we can expect on Friday. Let’s get straight to the markets where trading was thin, but equities ended the session at near three-year highs as the holiday low gets into full swing. The Stoxx 600 closed the session near an all-time high helped by optimism around the global economy and it seems as traders go off to enjoy their Christmas dinners, they’re feeling a bit more relaxed about the US-China trade spat. London’s FTSE drifted a little in earlier, trade before peaking up towards lunch time, while the CAC ended the session only marginally higher. Germany’s DAX was closed for the festive holidays. As traders head off for the festive break, Sterling remains in a fragile condition. It slid to three-week lows as the market braces for more uncertainty after the United Kingdom officially leaves the European Union in January. As Boris Johnson has made it illegal to extend trade talks UB on the end of next year, investors fret the country could crash out without a trade deal. The Financial Times says the US National Security Adviser has warned the UK of the dangers of allowing Huawei access to its 5G network. It caused Robert O’Brien saying it is somewhat shocking to us that folks in the UK would look at Huawei as some sort of a commercial decision. 5G is a national security decision. He added, they are just going to steal wholesale state secrets, whether they’re the UK’s nuclear secrets or secrets from MI6 or MI5. The Trump Administration has added Huawei to its trade blacklist citing national security concerns. The company that supplied Tesco with charity Christmas cards says it’s astonished by claims they were made by forced labor in prisons. Tesco suspended the Chinese supplier after a customer found a message written inside the card saying it had been propped by foreign prisoners who were victims of forced labor. The Zhejiang Yunguang printing factory says the claim is completely fabricated and slanderous. It claims to have had no dealings whatsoever with the prison in question. Shoppers are forecast to splash out more than GBP1 billion on Christmas Day as retailers slashed their prices on Christmas Eve at the end of what’s been a difficult festive shopping season. More suspense to John Lewis, Currys PC World and Boots kicked off their sales online on Christmas Eve as they have done for several years. Discounts this year will be greater than ever after low footfall on Saturday, an evidence that difficult trading that has hit the High Street is spreading to online retailers. It’s emerged that the talks on the future relationship between the UK and the EU will be hosted in London. The choice of location is a symbolic shift marking the UK’s position outside the EU after the 31st of January. The most likely location for the talks led by Michel Barnier for the EU and a yet to be identified UK Minister is the Cabinet’s Office in Whitehall. That’s it for now. We’ll be back on the 27th. In the meantime, have a good festive break. Don’t forget, you can watch more videos on Reuters.com. I’m Oliver Regan, and this is Reuters