Market themes of the Day: The geopolitical risk is back on with US retail sales headlining

Mario Blascak, PhD Independent Analyst

What you need to know before markets open
Main themes:

Various geopolitical risks escalated over the weekend including US tension with Saudi Arabia, Bavarian elections and Brexit talks put on hold.
Sterling opened with the gap on the downside trading at around the key technical level of 1.3100 against the US Dollar.
US retail sales report is expected to increase 0.5% m/m in September. For details read Valeria’s Preview here.

Europe

German local elections in Bavaria saw Angela Merkel’s coalition partner CSU losing its majority in an election that is likely to rattle German Chancellor Angela Merkel's fragile "grand coalition" government.

A weekend of intense Brexit negotiations failed to break the deadlock and there will be no further attempt to resolve the impasse before EU leaders gather in Brussels on Wednesday for the summit.

The US consumer sentiment dropped to 99.0, falling short of market expectations in September.
US retail sales report is expected to increase 0.5% m/m in September. The control group of the US retail sales included in the GDP report is expected to increase 0.4% m/m. For details read Valeria’s Preview here.

Author

Mario Blascak, PhD

Independent Analyst

Dr. Mário Bla&scaron;čák worked in professional finance and banking for 15 years before moving to journalism. While working for Austrian and German banks, he specialized in covering markets and macroeconomics.

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