Morning Report – Friday 30th October

Main Headlines

A host of Tech firms reported profits for the third quarter, with mixed results. Amid an ailing economy, the four largest; Alphabet, Facebook, Apple and Twitter combined for profits of 31 percent. This large boost comes as revenues for companies in the S&P 500 are expected to contract by two percent.

The ECB decided to keep rates unchanged in line with expectations. In her press conference later, Christine Lagarde signalled that the ECB will likely provide more stimulus before the end of the year, and also commented on how rising Coronavirus cases in Europe will weaken the Eurozone economy.

Keir Starmer, leader of the Labour Party took the decision to suspend Jeremy Corbyn following an official report that he did not do enough as leader to combat anti-semitism. Mr Corbyn wrote in a statement on Facebook that he did not agree with all of the findings in the report, and that the problem was “overstated for political reasons”.

GBP

The pound is trading relatively flat against the dollar and euro in early morning trading today. Downing Street is under increased pressure to impose a national lockdown as cases continue to sky rocket, and official data published yesterday showed the track and trace system is being exposed under the weight of COVID-19 cases.

EUR

The euro is trading relatively flat against the dollar this morning. A host of major eurozone economies including France and Germany are set to release Q3 growth numbers today. They will all show a sharp rebound to the tune of around ten percent, but can still disappoint to the downside due to increased restrictions in September.

USD

The dollar rose in early morning trade against most major currencies, including the Japanese Yen. There are only four days to go to the US election on 3rd November and the polls have Biden up in multiple battleground states including Florida. 60 percent of the 2016’s total have already voted with both Hawaii and Texas at above 95 percent.

Main Economic Data/Central Banks/Government (All times GMT)

6:30 a.m.: France 3Q GDP, Sept. Consumer Spending
7:00 a.m.: Germany Sept. Retail Sales
7:00 a.m.: U.K. Oct. Nationwide House Prices
7:00 a.m.: Turkey Sept. Trade
7:45 a.m.: France Oct. CPI
8:00 a.m.: Italy Sept. Unemployment
8:00 a.m.: Spain 3Q GDP
9:00 a.m.: ECB’s Mersch speaks
9:00 a.m.: ECB survey of professional forecasters
9:00 a.m.: Germany, Italy 3Q GDP
10:00 a.m.: Italy Oct. CPI
10:00 a.m: Euro-Area 3Q GDP, Oct. CPI
11:00 a.m.: U.K. sells bills
12:00 p.m.: ECB’s Guindos speaks
2:30 p.m.: ECB’s Weidmann speaks

Italy sovereign debt rated by DBRS