UK focus shifts to economic data

With House of Commons in recess for the Easter break, the coming week is unlikely to be dominated by Brexit (thankfully) to the same extent as weeks gone by, with the focus for the UK markets shifting to a series of economic releases. The pound has made a steady but unspectacular start to the new week, edging higher against most of its major peers but with the largest gain only 0.2% against the Australian dollar. It’s a similar story for equities, with the FTSE 100 higher by single-digits and remaining well supported not far from year-to-date highs.  

UK and Chinese releases to watch

Employment figures due out 9:30 Tuesday morning are the first of three significant data points from the UK in as many days, with the latest CPI inflation figures following on before retail sales rounds off the trio on Thursday. While some positive UK data would no doubt be warmly welcomed, even if these releases top expectations the chances of an interest rate hike from the Bank of England this year remain remote. With Brexit uncertainty likely to remain for the foreseeable future and a clear dovish shift seen from both the ECB and Fed of late, it is hard to envisage Governor Carney going out on a whim and hiking anytime soon.

Mining stocks on the FTSE will no doubt be sensitive to the most recent batch of Chinese data, with GDP, industrial production and retail sales all due out overnight on Tuesday. There’s a feeling that the Chinese economy has bounced back in recent months, aided no doubt by a surge in credit, and investors will be hoping for some confirmation of this from hard data out at 3AM Wednesday morning.

Fears rise of Jet Airways collapse

There’s mounting speculation that Jet Airways could be the next airline to go under after reports the firm are flying just 7 planes as it seeks a solution to its growing debt problem. The decision to ground around 80% of its fleet has been exacerbated by pilots striking and means that thousands of passengers have been left stranded as the search continues for investors to buy 75% of the company. The airline has been struggling to survive for a while now, with pilots reported not paid for 3 ½ months and talks with Etihad Airways, who bought a 24% stake in Jet just over 5 years ago, have failed to yield a breakthrough.