Sino-US talks end on a positive note, boost European stocks

European gauges are trading higher this morning boosted by positive signals from the Sino-US talks which concluded in Beijing late Tuesday. The negotiators have not released any concrete results of their discussions yet but President Trump tweeted that “talks with China are going very well”, giving rise to expectations that the two sides have found a resolution to some of their most contentious issues. Apart from tariffs these also include intellectual property rights protection and protection of the rights of US companies trading in China. Asian markets reacted with a bounce after the talks, rising to a three week high.

Sainsbury sales drop

A day after Asda and Wm Morrison reported their sales figures Sainsbury also followed suit but unlike the other two supermarkets the numbers showed a worse than expected decline in Christmas sales. While the group’s grocery sales were solid, demand for general merchandise tailed off. Though investors are still fairly sceptical about Sainsbury, particularly given that the company is in the process of clearing hurdles to buy rival Asda, the decline in the share price this morning of 1.5% has been significantly lower than what Morrison experienced yesterday even after reporting sales marginally ahead of expectations.

Airlines recover as Heathrow reopens

Drone activity seems to be the new way of blocking British airports and after Gatwick fell foul to these tactics before Christmas, Heathrow became the next target yesterday. However this time around the airport closure was much shorter than at Gatwick and flights resumed after a relatively short period of time. Shares in EasyJet and British Airways parent company International Consolidated Airlines are trading in positive territory this morning, seemingly unaffected by the drone threat.

Oil heading for $60 mark

Brent crude prices are continuing to gain ground this week with the London contract heading for the $60 mark this morning. Though traders are explaining this away with the fact that Saudi Arabia and Russia have agreed to reduce production this quarter an element of the rise has to do with new position taking at the start of the year and bargain hunting after the oil price flirted with the $50 level in late December.

Greggs

May's profit warning seems like a distant memory now that Greggs has made a surprisingly strong finish to 2018.More sales volatility can't be ruled out in future, though the company appears to be on a stronger footing now than it was heading into last year. Greggs' breakfast offering has proven popular with groggy workers on the go. Previous investments in manufacturing capabilities and administration systems, meanwhile, are set to bear fruit over the coming months via efficiency gains. Then, of course, are those vegan sausage roles. All the media controversy swirling since their launch last Thursday appears to have given Greggs a welcome helping of free publicity, for a product that could be a key driver of sales growth in the current year.We think it highly unlikely that all those vegan-loathing carnivores out there, although outraged by the launch, will be outraged enough to forgo their Greggs steak bakes in protest.