European equities trade mixed around opening levels
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European equities trade mixed around opening levels. US stock markets open with limited gains. Twitter said it would cut 9% of its global workforce to keep costs down as the microblogging service reported quarterly results that beat Wall Street expectations, lifting shares.
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The Swedish Riksbank kept its monetary policy unchanged, but assesses that the repo rate needs to be held at −0.50% for six months longer than previously thought, until early 2018. The probability that the rate will be cut further has increased. The Riksbank is prepared to extend the purchases of government bonds if necessary.
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Norway's central bank kept its key interest rate unchanged at 0.50%, in line with forecasts, as the economy continued to show signs of recovery after a two‐year slump and rates were low or negative among Norway's trading partners.
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The UK economy slowed less than economists' forecast in the quarter after the Brexit vote because of a surge in services, providing ammunition for critics of those who warned of a possible fallout before the referendum. The 0.5% Q/Q expansion was better than the 0.3% Q/Q median forecast.
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Belgium agreed a deal with its regional parliaments to approve a landmark EU‐Canada free trade agreement, breaking a deadlock that has blocked the pact for weeks.
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Shipments of US non‐defense capital goods, which are used in calculating gross domestic product, fell an annualized 4.4% in the three months ending in September. They were up 0.3 % from a month earlier after being little changed in August. Weekly jobless claims remain close to historically low levels (258k).
Author
KBC Market Research Desk
KBC Bank
