European equities celebrated the last morning before the Easter break with cyclicals leading the rally. They ticked higher at the open and although they retraced most gains quite quickly, all sectors have now turned to turn in the green. Volumes feel healthy with the DAX being the highlight. The index is currently trading +87% and +30% above its 1d and 10d turnover AVATs (main winner includes SAP, trading 26% above its 10day AVAT) . As we take a pause before the break, perhaps is worth reminding ourselves where we are. As our charts team highlighted, we would like to see first support levels to hold to sustain the upside momentum. We are watching 8000 support for the Nasdaq, 2640/2650 for the S&P and 10000 for the DAX.

EU equities are having a pause for breath today after EU finance ministers failed to agree on a plan to support the economy. We probably saw it coming after the wobble yesterday afternoon so is this the end of a bear market bounce? All indices have been trading in the red since the open but encouragingly volumes have been low as well (the SXXP is currently trading -37% and -39% below its 1d and 30d AVAT respectively). Feels like investors have taken a well earned moment to digest the latest macro and company updates ahead of the Easter break.

Another encouraging day as we are seeing a healthy bounce accompanied by a spike in volumes across the board. The virus seems to be further stabilising in Europe and investors are once again showing signs of risk appetite. All EU indices are at least 3% up and it is definitely nice to see them trading above their 10day AVATs. We saw the Nasdaq (8000/8011), S&P 500 (2640/2650) and the DAX (10000) breaking their resistance levels yesterday so fingers crossed the trend continues.  

Nice to start the week on the right foot as European equities followed Asia and are having the first proper bounce in the quarter. All indices and sectors are trading in the green and investors have definitely got their risk-on mood back. Latest stats on Covid-19 are helping the boost and although some countries are still yet to see a peak in virus cases, it looks like Europe is close to turning a corner. We have seen a pick-up in volumes across the board and cyclicals are back outperforming vs defensives.

Quiet end of the week but I’m sure many are looking forward to watch the virtual Grand National tomorrow at 5pm. It will definitely be a different one this year but we should make the most of it. All bets will be donated to the NHS so start putting yours in and make sure you stock your fridge!

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.