Summary:
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CB consumer confidence expected to decline in January
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Another vote concerning Brexit to be held today in UK parliament
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4 Dow Jones members to report earnings today
The British pound will remain in the spotlight throughout the day as traders wait for another crucial vote in the UK parliament. In meantime, investors will be offered the CB consumer confidence reading for January as well as weekly data on oil inventories from API. US stock traders should stay cautious during today’s session on Wall Street as vast array of major US companies is set to report earnings today, including 4 Dow Jones members.
3:00 pm GMT - Conference Board consumer confidence for January. The latest data from the University of Michigan has shown further deteriorations of moods among the US consumers. As the past two CB readings showed confidence decline one should be keep in mind that another lower print could spoil moods significantly. And that is exactly what market consensus expects. Median of economists’ forecasts hints at a drop towards 126 pts from 128.1 pts in the previous month.
9:40 pm GMT - API report on oil inventories. The latest round of fresh geopolitical tensions around the world concerns Venezuela and its political uncertainty. The situation is likely to have an impact on the oil market after the US administration imposed new sanctions on Venezuelan state-owned PDVSA. Sanctions literally restrain the oil company from exporting crude to the US. Meanwhile Saudi Arabia pledged for more decisive output cuts in February under OPEC+ agreement. Today’s weekly API print is expected to show 2 million barrel decline.
Brexit vote
The UK parliament will vote today on MPs recommendations regarding the Brexit process. After PM Theresa May suffered tremendous defeat two weeks ago, the debate in the UK parliament started on how the withdrawal process should look like now. Members of parliament submitted their proposals during the past week and the Speaker, John Bercow, will choose later today what amendments will be put under vote. One should keep in mind that a bulk of proposals are written in a way that hints a possibility of supporting deal only if some concessions are made. In case May receives lawmakers support she will later return to Brussels and discuss proposed changes with EU officials. While what happens next is unclear, it looks quite certain that another defeat today could trigger another no-confidence motion. Exact timing of today’s vote is not known yet but debates on particular issues will be held throughout the day.
Central bank speakers scheduled for today:
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8:30 am GMT - Riksbank’s Floden
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9:15 am GMT - BOE’s Woods
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10:20 am GMT - ECB’s Villeroy
Major US companies reporting earnings today:
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Apple (AAPL.US)
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Verizon Communications (VZ.US)
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Pfizer (PFE.US)
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3M (MMM.US)
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Lockheed Martin (LMT.US)
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Illumina (ILMN.US)
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Harley-Davidson (HOG.US)
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Ebay (EBAY.US)
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Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.US)
Rally on GBPUSD market eased at the beginning of this week. The pair is pulling back from the vicinity of the long-term resistance zone ranging above the 1.3230 handle. Traders may expect GBP to be more sensitive during the day due to Brexit headlines. Source: xStation5
