The day started with an inflation rate report from Japan, which showed that in November the rate dropped to -0.9%; the same applies to the core inflation rate as well. Though the results indicate a stronger deflation than the previous reports, they did not surprise investors in the slightest.
Next, consumer confidence in the United Kingdom was -26 so far in December, which is not quite as low as the forecast. Retail sales data was mixed. When it comes to all reports related to the United Kingdom, right now there is still hope for a trade agreement with the EU, which is boosting sentiment.
In Germany, the Ifo business climate index climbed to 92, which is higher than the forecasts. This result is a little surprising, considering Germany just entered an even more restrictive lockdown that will last into January 2021.
Meanwhile, in the United States stimulus is the main market keyword today and will remain so over the next couple of days. Senate Republicans are finally giving the $908 billion proposal a serious consideration and will work overtime to find a compromise. Their determination is keeping investors optimistic about fiscal stimulus in the United States.
The US dollar remains weak due to the hopes for stimulus and overall optimism among investors. This has allowed assets quoted in USD to continue rising in value.
Copper is quickly becoming one of the best performing trading instruments this week. The price of copper has soared to more than $8,000 per ton. Part of the rally is because of the reserve currency’s weakness. However, copper will likely continue to grow due to its prominent role in the making of electric vehicles, which are gradually expanding their share in the automobile industry.
The stock markets are more or less flat today due to many contracts expiring. Companies to watch out for today include FedEx and Nike.
In addition, Polish video game developer CD Projekt Red is one of the least profitable companies this week, losing 45% of stock value in just a few days. It released the highly anticipated Cyberpunk 2077 game last week but the publication was met with mass outrage over the poor performance of the game on console and accusations that the publisher intentionally misled buyers.
At the end of the business week we still have no news on the Brexit negotiations, except that both the UK and the EU teams are hard at work to hash out a compromise deal.
