Stocks Steady, Trump Inauguration Anticipation Holds Sway
January 18 2017 - 3:24AM
Dow Jones News
By Jon Sindreu
Global markets were broadly flat Wednesday, a further sign of
the caution that permeates financial markets ahead of
President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration later this week.
The Stoxx Europe 600 remained mostly unchanged during the first
minutes of European trade, with the technology sector as the
biggest riser and media companies as the key losers. The FTSE 100
gained 0.3%, while futures pointed to an 0.2% opening rise for the
S&P 500.
Asian shares were mixed, but the main developed index, the
Japanese Nikkei, closed 0.4% higher.
In currencies, markets corrected the previous day's moves.
The pound fell 0.5% against the U.S. dollar, after its
impressive 3% surge Tuesday, the biggest daily rise in eight years.
Sterling was bolstered by U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May pledging
to subject the final Brexit deal to a parliamentary vote.
The WSJ Dollar Index, which tracks the currency against a basket
of 16 others, rose 0.3%. On Tuesday, it had hit a one-month low on
the back of Mr. Trump describing the currency as "too strong" in an
earlier interview with The Wall Street Journal.
Financial markets have struck a prudent tone ahead of Mr. Trump
taking office, with investors appearing to have some second
thoughts about the risk-driven trades that have dominated since the
U.S. election on Nov. 8. While Mr. Trump's antitrade rhetoric has
long scared many analysts, markets initially decided to focus on
his plans to slash taxes and regulations and boost infrastructure
spending.
Investors are now waiting for further clarity on such policies,
as well as corporate earnings, to decide whether growth and
inflation will come through or, rather, markets got ahead of
themselves after the election.
Write to Jon Sindreu at jon.sindreu@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 18, 2017 04:09 ET (09:09 GMT)
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