Financial scouts note that European stock markets now face many incoming cues that are really mixed. The biggest current news on both sides of the spectrum is the Brexit uncertainty and the meaningful progress towards resolving the U.S.-China trade war.
So while the Brexit news make investors feel downbeat with Britain’s withdrawal date very close now and no deal approved yet, the U.S. and China seem to be mending their relationship after the spat. European investors are inspired by the news that the extra-high Chinese imports tariffs might be “reduced and removed”, which is a positive cue for European traders who had previously been worried that the U.S. might introduce new increased on car imports from Europe.
Also, traders in Europe are keeping track of the Davos World Economic Forum news, with some important announcements likely to be made there even though some of the key political figures and leaders like U.S. President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron are not going to Davos this year.
According to financial scouts, another thing that drives Europe’s markets is oil prices that demonstrate ambiguous dynamics. The medium-term positive driver here was the OPEC+ decision to cut the production that was passed in December 2018. So the decreased oil production eased investors’ concerns over possible oil oversupply.