FTSE gains, as traders await US inflation

US CPI looks set to dominate market sentiment today, with the European session focusing on the latest eurozone GDP figure, which remained at the highest levels since the financial crisis.

• Sky heads up gainers as FTSE rises

• Will US CPI ramp up market volatility?

• Eurozone growth remains elevated

European markets are on the rise, as yesterday’s breather appears to have paved the way for another sustained assault on last week’s mountain of losses. Chief amongst the gainers is Sky, which is trading over 3% higher after the firm retained the rights to show the majority of Premier League matches for the 2019-22 period. Perhaps the most important aspect of this deal was the fact that the incessant rise in the cost of showing Premier League football appears to have finally broken, with Sky managing to show more matches, while reducing the cost, from £4.1 billion (2016-19) to £3.6 billion (2019-22).

While the volatility of last week seems to have largely abated, there is certainly an element of weariness today, as traders prepare for the US CPI inflation reading. With last week’s sharp rise in downside volatility partly attributed to the recent rise in US wage growth, there is a fear that a rise in CPI today could spark a similar response in the global markets.

Eurozone growth remained at the highest levels seen since the financial crisis, with the EU once again showing the UK what it is missing. While the eurozone continues to go from strength to strength, the expectation is that the UK will post one of the slowest rates of growth in the developed world, helping push EURGBP to the highest level in a month.

Ahead of the open we expect the Dow Jones to open 120 points higher, at 24,760.