European shares are extending yesterday’s gains despite a mixed trading session in Asia overnight and while U.S. Futures point to a steady open ahead of 4th of July bank holiday. Market sentiment is being boosted by the prospect of more dovish central bankers after Christine Lagarde was chosen to run ECB and as Donald Trump decided to appoint Christopher Waller and Judy Shelton on the board of the Fed. Equity investors welcomed the news as these new faces are expected to fight for more stimulus in both Europe and the United States. However, recent bullish moves observed on safer assets such as bullion, the JPY and the CHF indicate that investors are not fully certain on how this summer will play out and are seeking to protect their portfolios by diversifying their risk profile.
Today volatility spikes are likely to be brought by both U.S. and European data with EU PMI numbers this morning and U.S. National employment and jobless claim this afternoon. The Stoxx-50 index is trading towards 3,520.0pts as prices are likely to test the strong 3,530.0pts resistance level. Every EU benchmark is bullish, with the DAX-30 index in Frankfurt and the FTSE-MIB in Milan registering the best performances. The SMI-20 has now got back above the psychologic and technical 10,000.0pts level, mostly driven by GIVAUDAN and LAFARGE HOLCIM while Financials remain at the bottom of the Swiss board today.
Photo by Daniel Hansen.
