Summary:
- US500 makes new record peak after Senate pass GOP tax bill
- CBOE to offer Bitcoin futures from Sunday
- GBP hands back earlier gains after failure to make deal in Brexit talks
- US factory orders beat forecast but still contract
- DE30 technical overview
The Republican tax bill managed to squeeze through the Senate by a marginal majority (51-49) over the weekend and it has boosted risk assets with all 3 major US indices (US500, US30, US100) higher on the day. The US500 and US30 have both made fresh all-time highs but the US100 is lagging behind a little at present and remains below its previous peak.
The first US trade in Bitcoin futures will occur before the end of the week with the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) set to offer the contract live from 11Pm GMT on Sunday December 10. The latest news from the CBOE has coincided with a recovery and the market is currently higher by around 2% on the day.
Reports that the UK and EU have failed to reach a “complete” agreement over the UK’s first phase divorce talks with the EU in Brussels have seen the pound fall back after earlier moving higher. An earlier comment from a European MEP had raised hopes that today would see some progress made, but it appears that the contentious issue of the Irish border has failed to be agreed upon to a satisfactory manner.
On the data front UK construction PMI beat vastly the forecast (51) and came in at 53.1 for November, but economic releases are playing second fiddle to political developments at present.
The only economic data of note from the US this afternoon has come in better than expected with factory orders for October beating forecasts. A M/M reading of -0.1% was above the consensus forecast according to Bloomberg of -0.3% but still marks the 1st decline in the last 3 releases.
From a technical perspective, our latest overview focuses on the DE30 and can be found here.