TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS MARKET BRIEFING:

• European stock markets remain optimistic
• Wall Streetfragilized by impeachment proceedings
• Chart of the day – GBP/USD: an upward widening

EUROPEAN STOCK MARKETS REMAIN OPTIMISTIC

European stock markets are up slightly on Thursday pending the presentation of the future US stimulus plan for President-elect Joe Biden.

The market trend remains dictated by American news with the presentation this Thursday by Joe Biden of an ambitious stimulus plan that should be close to $ 2 trillion and include the sending of checks to households and financing to states and local authorities.

If the United States is preparing to boost budget support in the face of the impact of the health crisis, investors are wondering if at the same time the Federal Reserve does not plan to reduce the sail on asset purchases.

In this context, the market will closely follow the words of Jerome Powell, the chairman of the Fed. The session will be animated by, among other things, jobless registrations in the United States, and the publication of the minutes of the last monetary policy meeting of the European Central Bank.

WALL STREET WEAKENED BY IMPEACHMENT<BR/> Wall Street ended mixed on Wednesday, with investors preferring to adopt a wait-and-see attitude as debates over the impeachment process against US President Donald Trump began in Congress.

A week after Donald Trump's supporters burst into the Capitol, the US House of Representatives on Wednesday approved his indictment for "inciting insurrection", in a speech delivered before the violence.

Some investors fear that an "impeachment" procedure will delay the implementation of the recovery plan planned to mitigate the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

Markets are also awaiting the start of the earnings season, which will be given on Friday by several major banks and will test the high valuations reached by equities.

As a result, the Dow Jones lost 0.03% to 31,060.47 points. The Nasdaq gained 0.43% and the S&P 500 advanced 0.23%.

Otherpoints on financial market news

• forex:

On the foreign exchange market, the dollar is unchanged against a basket of reference currencies and the euro is trading around 1.216

• petroleum:

Oil prices are up slightly thanks to lower U.S. crude inventories for a fifth consecutive week and record levels of crude imports to China in 2020, but rising COVID cases around the world are limiting gains.

According to figures from the U.S. Energy Information Agency, inventories fell by 3.2 million barrels last week in the United States against a drop expected of 2.3 million by the Reuters consensus.

Economic calendar of the day:

CHART OF THE DAY –GBP/USD: AN UPWARD WIDENING

Sterling is rising against the US dollar and prices are trading within an upward widening. For now, the momentum remains bullish, the market is working a resistance at $1.3680, so the break should lead to a further acceleration to reach the next level at $1.3900.

The current outlook is favourable for a continuation of the trend for the coming days. A retracement on the support level at $1.3460 is possible, however we believe that the GBP/USD has the capacity to record new highs.