Market Headlines – 23/1/2018

US

• US equities gained 0.8% following the conclusion of the short-lived government shutdown yesterday. Telecoms, Energy and Consumer Discretionary were among the best performing sectors for the session.
• Senate Republicans and Democrats reached an agreement on spending and immigration allowing the passage of a stopgap bill to keep the government open until February 8, putting an end to the three-day government shutdown.
• US treasuries continued their negative momentum as yields ticked a further 1bps higher (prices fell) to settle at 2.66%. The dollar also remained under pressure yesterday despite the positive news out of Washington – the greenback settled 0.2% lower against a basket of peers.

Europe

• European equities followed the lead of their US peers, with the Euro Stoxx 50 index gaining 0.4%. The German DAX index rose 0.2%, the French CAC gained 0.3% and Spanish equities were the standout performer, settling 1.0% higher.
• The euro rose 0.2% against the dollar, settling at $1.2244 ahead of the conclusion of the ECB meeting on Thursday.

Asia

• Asian equities climbed to record highs amid optimism on corporate earnings and following the end of the US government shutdown.
• Japanese equities were further buoyed by a falling yen after Bank of Japan governor Kuroda damped speculation policy makers are moving closer to reducing monetary stimulus.