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Please see below for the latest Blackfinch Group Monday Market Update received by us today 02/11/2020:

UK COMMENTARY

  • Infection rates continued to climb, with talk of a second national lockdown becoming more prevalent towards the end of the week
  • According to the Confederation of British Industry, retail sales fell in the year to October. The group surveyed 116 firms, of which 54 were retailers, and highlighted a loss of momentum from September
  • The Bank of England (BoE) entered consultation with UK banks about the potential for allowing them to resume paying dividends
  • Data from The British Retail Consortium showed that prices in UK shops fell by 1.2% in October, after falling 3.2% in September. Prices for non-food items also fell 2.7% month on month
  • Net mortgage borrowing increased to £4.8 bn in September, from £3.0 bn in August, according to the Bank of England. Mortgage approvals for house purchases reached their highest level since September 2007, at 91,500

US COMMENTARY

  • House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin continued to be unable to reach an agreement on a stimulus package
  • Latest gross domestic product (GDP) figures showed that the US economy grew by 33.1% in the third quarter, following a fall of 31.4% in the second quarter. Expectations had been for an increase of 32%
  • In the week to 24th October, new jobless claims fell to 751,000, better than forecasts of 770,000
  • Daily new infection cases reached record highs, with over 100,000 infections reported on 30th October
  • New home sales fell short of consensus, with 959,000 sales reported in September, below expectations for 1.03 bn homes to have been built

EUROPE COMMENTARY

  • France, Spain, Germany and Ireland all imposed further restrictions on movement in a bid to slow rising infection rates
  • The European Central Bank left rates unchanged. Head of the bank Christine Lagarde suggested there was ‘little doubt’ that the bank would act in December to loosen monetary policy further
  • GDP across the region increased by 12.7% in the third quarter, ahead of the 9.4% growth expected. France, Spain, Germany and Italy all posted forecast-beating figures

ASIA COMMENTARY

  • South Korea GDP grew 1.9% in the third quarter as compared to the previous quarter
  • The Bank of Japan made no changes to its monetary policy settings, as expected. However, it did trim its growth forecasts to reflect sluggish service spending through the summer months

COVID-19 COMMENTARY

  • The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency announced that it has started accelerated reviews of the vaccines in development by both Astrazeneca and Pfizer. This is in the hope of enabling the UK to approve the first potential jab as quickly as possible

These articles provide concise well-informed views that cover the whole of the market and are useful to maintain your up to date view of the markets globally.

Please keep reading our blogs regularly to give yourself a holistic and up to date view of the markets.

Keep safe and well,

Paul Green

02/11/2020