The ECB meeting on Thursday

Jens Peter Sørensen Danske Bank A/S

Market movers today

The main event today is the speeches by the ECB’s Yves Mersch and Peter Praet ahead of the ECB meeting on Thursday.
There will not be any significant economic data releases today. The main events in the week include the speech by UK Prime Minister Theresa May on Brexit on Tuesday as well as the ECB meeting on Thursday. Furthermore, there are two speeches due to be given by the Fed’s Janet Yellen. Finally, on Friday, there is the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump.
The earnings season continues this week with Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sacs, Citigroup, American express and IBM. The World Economic Forum is kicking off this week as well.

Selected market news

GBP is again under pressure versus the other major currencies in Asian trade as the market is expecting Prime Minister Theresa May to signal a ‘hard Brexit’ at her speech on Tuesday. Expectations for a hard Brexit were fuelled by a series of newspaper reports over the weekend. USD/GBP was below 1.20 briefly in early Asian trade. The yen has also been strengthening against the US dollar this morning.

Speculation regarding a ‘hard Brexit’ has also been weighing on the Asian equity markets this morning. We have seen most markets decline. The US markets will be closed today for Martin Luther King Day.

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Author

Jens Peter Sørensen

Danske Bank A/S

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