Another day of mixed volumes after a disappointing start to the quarter and we are back watching support levels. In the US, the S&P has little support at 2400 but key support levels are 2191/2346. Here in Europe, we are watching 4000/3632 on the CAC and most importantly 15000 on the FTSEMIB (which is 2016’s low). Let’s see if we manage to hold these levels until the end of the week!

So that’s the end of Q1 and no-one will be sad to see it over and done with. Who knows what Q2 holds but we’ve a timely piece from our Ideas team today arguing that markets will remain volatile as equities “enter the phase in which policy collides with deteriorating news flow”. With recovery and long-term quality currently appearing under-priced, our view is that now is a sensible moment to add Value to portfolios.

Quieter start to the week accompanied by lower volumes across the board. European equities tumbled at the open following Oil, which hit a 17-year low after falling below 20.5. The commodity is top of our watch list today and although the 20.5 level has been tested throughout the morning, it is worrying that is now trading below it – next support is the 2011 low of 16.70. Elsewhere we are also watching copper, for which the support stands at 200 (HG1 216.75).

A well-deserved weekend is around the corner and we are all looking forward to it. I’m sure many of you have shifted to a delivery based consumption model. In my case, I’m reliant on amazon to satisfy my Reese’s and Nutella addiction. What will you be having delivered?

Quieter day today as investors are once again digesting all of the covid-19 and stimulus updates. Countries continue to report new virus cases and the WHO warned yesterday that nations won’t be back to normal anytime soon. On the positive side though, the US senate approved the $2 trillion package overnight (now subject to the House approval), the ECB confirmed they started buying bonds under their emergency program this morning and the BoE recently confirmed they are ready to loosen policy further.

Cheery morning after the US finally agreed on a $2trln+ phase 3 stimulus bill overnight. Worth mentioning that this comes after a 94% up day in the US (with the Dow closing up +11% – best day since 1930s) and a 92% up day in Europe (with the FTSE having its second best day ever). Asia closed in the green this morning and although European equities ticked higher at the open they have now turned to trade sideways after edging lower. Volumes have dried up a little bit in comparison to this morning’s but somehow encouragingly we are still seeing mostly all indices trading above their 1day and 20day AVAT (except for the CAC and thee IBEX, which are trading -15% and -20% below their 20day AVAT).  

Classic turnaround Tuesday as investors digest the latest stimulus measures and positive news from China (suggesting that Wuhan’s lockdown could end soon). Asian equities bounced this morning and European stocks followed the trend. Volumes remain low though but at least it is encouraging to see European indices holding up above last week’s lows. Over the pond, the Senate’s $2 trillion bill was again delayed overnight. Nancy Pelosi announced a new package so hopefully they manage to agree on one later today.

Quiet start of the week as lockdowns continued to expand over the weekend and the US failed to agree on the virus rescue plan last night. The S&P broke the 2346 support from Dec 2018 after we went home Friday and although futures were pointing down the whole morning, they bounced (on the back of the Fed’s comments) and are trading up +2.6%. Here in Europe, key supports remain 15000 on the FTSE MIB and 5000/4900 for the FTSE 100. Volumes are lower across the path as we are seeing all indices trading well below their 1d, 5d and 20d turnover AVATs.

Encouraging Friday after an exhausting week! More positive stimulus updates, VIX back below 70, volumes up across the board (although fair given is options expiry) but most importantly, EU equities have bounced since the open and managed to recover all of the losses made in the past 5 days. Hopefully all of the expiries run smoothly to ensure a strong close. Sector wise things have turned and we are seeing Travel & Leisure stocks outperforming more defensive sectors such as Healthcare and Food & Beverage (which btw have both turned to trade in the red).

So today we have quieter volumes, stimulus updates and plenty of support levels to keep an eye on. The ECB announced 750bn euros of purchases until the end of the year (and left the door open for more) and the Fed announced another programme overnight. European equities tried to celebrate the news at the open but sadly the gains faded throughout the morning.