Morning Report – Monday 4th January

Main Headlines

European Governments, including the UK are considering increasing Coronavirus restrictions to control the new strain that has come out of the UK. Boris Johnson has said that England should brace for possible school closures and disruption in British ports.

Donald Trump is reportedly attempting to apply pressure to top election officials in Georgia to change the vote tally in the state to secure the election win against Joe Biden, over two months after the election took place. Donald Trump is due to hand over the presidency to Joe Biden in less than three weeks but shows no signs of backing down.

GBP

The pound is higher against the dollar and lower against the euro in early trading this morning. The UK is set to administer the first AstraZeneca-Oxford shots today, but the short term outlook for the economy still looks cloudy. There are understandably no major economic data releases on the first trading day of the New Year, and what is also the first working day since the Brexit transition period ended.

EUR

The euro is higher against the dollar in early morning trading today. Many European Governments are worried about the new strain of Coronavirus, and Germany are reportedly considering extending its lockdown, which was due to expire on 10th January, to the end of January. The Eurozone Manufacturing PMI for December is set to be released this morning which will show a small increase on the November reading.

USD

The dollar is lower against a basket of major currencies including the Japanese Yen in trading this morning. Donald Trumps phone call to Georgia election officials has pushed the Republican party into disarray as some senators disagree with Trump’s brazen attempt to hold onto power. Nancy Pelosi was also re-elected as speaker of the House.

Markets

Global equities are mixed in the first trading day of the new year, as investors continue to weigh up a rosy 2021 outlook with a grim January in prospect. S&P 500 futures post modest gains this morning and is trading at an all-time high. Oil and Gold prices are higher ahead of an OPEC+ meeting, while treasury yields are mostly unchanged.

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

7:00 a.m.: Turkey Dec. CPI
9:00 a.m.: Eurozone Dec. Markit Manufacturing PMI
9:30 a.m.: U.K. Nov. Consumer Credit
3:20 p.m.: Riksbank Releases Targeted Corporate Bond Buys

Italy Dec. Budget Balance