“It’s the journey that matters not the result” a friend said to me yesterday and post Friday’s humbling result that’s the sort of mindset I’ll have heading to Cologne tomorrow for the Scotland vs Switzerland match. It’s a bit like entering the Euromillions (£146m tonight fyi) – you’re probably not going to win, but that doesn’t stop you thinking you might in the lead up – Optimism is a beautiful thing. No signs of optimism fading within the Equity complex, yes we’re now lagging the U.S. quite c…

Today felt like just what the doctor ordered for European equities. Macron out with a reassuring statement early doors that he won’t quit if his party loses the upcoming parliamentary elections which settled a few nerves. It was followed by soft set of U.S. data pretty much across the board – Headline CPI at 3.3%, Core at 3.4% both YoY but the monthly trend improving and coming in at 0.2% ex-food and energy but all markets positive. Key is that the U.S.10yr dropped below the key 4.33% level and…

Ahead of the CPI and a Fed Decision tomorrow in the U.S. there is usually a certain natural vacuum within the Equity markets. Usually we flicker about within a few bps of the previous close as we all wait fairly patiently and wait, and wait. Today, following on from yesterday, feel like a great example of when one negative news story is out there on those kinds of days and it tends to carry a bit more weight and the Stoxx 600 ended the day -90bps. A story rumbling about Macron possibly resignin…

Four days touring around the south of England in (mostly sunshine) certainly a lovely break though I was blown away by the sheer amount of Lib Dem pickets on driveways I saw on my travels. A 250-1 shot for an overall majority in the election in a few weeks’ time meaning if you put 10 pounds on them, you lose 10 pounds. Second favourite however to be in a coalition with Labour as the shape of the next government and wherever you look right now politics is shifting and it all feels a very fluid s…

Part of my rehabilitation is to attach an electric ‘TENS’ machine to spark some life into my somewhat dormant leg muscles that haven’t had much to do in… well…quite a long time. Today was a day when it seemed the TENS machine was attached to the European Equity market and sparking some much needed life. There was an 80bp rally for the Stoxx 600 though in a little change to what we’ve seen recently it was the large heavyweights doing the lifting. The Euro Stoxx 50 (+1.6%) which had its best day…

Everything is relative in this industry and we are still fairly close to recent highs but there was little doubt that at times today felt on the painful side. Oil breaking below not one, but two supports in the last few sessions and an OPEC meeting that didn’t soothe investor’s fears set the tone for a day when Energy names in Europe came under pressure from the outset: BP a 12mo relative low, TotalEnergies right at a big level just a couple but there was nowhere to hide with the sector (SXEP)…

Not much good on TV of late so in the past couple of weeks I’ve started re-watching Suits which depicts the slightly unrealistic and glamourized life of a U.S. law firm. Everyone would rather be a Harvey Specter than a Louis Litt and we all would benefit from Mike Ross’s mind. Either way Harvey doesn’t like to lose and he famously said ‘You don’t go to trial if you’re not going to win”. Scrubbing up on Suits felt like the best prep this weekend as the day’s major news came over the weekend fro…

Following on from the recent low volume, low volatility, grind higher it feels we’re in a low volume, slightly higher vol slide into month end. SX5E tested and headed below the 50d average of 5011 early on and will worry some but really 4884 the big level which has been the bottom end of the recent range. Well shorted name leading the declines today (having led gains yesterday) but there is no let up with the well held Longs under pressure at various times today. Heavy today and for no real obv…

May has been one the most disjointed months in recent memory so it’s only fitting that the last week has a similar feel to the rest of the month. Hard to get a real sense of things as investors and market watchers are in and out, themes are harder to pick up and earnings season on the whole in the rear view mirror – nothing feels that aligned! The major theme being the lack of one but maybe a bit of pain as the day went on today. We’re at or near all-time highs across a raft of key global indi…

If a Snapshot comparing UK midcaps to unloved goats doesn’t get a reply I am not quite sure what will! It was probably a indication of just how quiet things were yesterday and the sad news was there was only a very small pick up today. Another ‘goat’ getting some attention? XP Power (+48%) the next UK midcap which received a proposal from Advanced Energy though unlike yesterday the company have since rejected. Outside of that our early direction was dictated by Asia with the Hang Seng lower wei…