Summary for the 13th of February 2019


The market sentiment has been improving after a slow start at the beginning of the week. The factor responsible for the positive sentiment is mostly likely the trade meeting between the US and China, more specifically, the hope for a positive outcome from the meeting.

The US president, Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he would let the 1st of March deadline for increasing tariffs on 200 bn. dollars worth of Chinese goods slide for a little while.

For the deadline to be extended is to be expected, because three months period is too short for the two countries to reach an agreement.  

In addition, President Trump seems to be increasingly supportive of the tentative plan for the funding of the border security proposed by the US Congress. This might lead to the approval of the legislation and thus avoiding another government shutdown.

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTs) in the US rose and reached an all time high of 7.335 million in December 2018, in addition to the past numbers got revised upward. The positive trend through 2018 is thus ,still intact, and shows that companies are having difficulty finding skilled labors, a sight of a tightening in the labor market. The positive trend of the JOLTS numbers is indicating a rise in hourly earnings and in inflation rate.

Indices on the 13th of February: A tentative deal from the US Congress, positive expectations of avoiding an escalation of the trade conflict and somewhat positive companies earnings have led to a positive close in the stock market.

Dow: +1.5% (12th of February )
S&P 500: +1.3% (12th of February)
Nasdaq: +1.5% (12th of February)
Nikkei: +1.5%  (13th of February)
Chinese indices: +1.3% (13th of February)
STOXX Europe 600 Index: +0.50% (13th of February)

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