Spreadex Market Update

Vaccine news and promise of bipartisan spending agreement drive Dow higher



Riding high on vaccine news, the markets weren’t hurt by a dramatically lower than forecast ADP nonfarm employment change reading.

Not only was the Dow Jones celebrating speculation that a vaccine could be rushed out in time for Christmas, but also Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s claim that ‘a bipartisan agreement should still be reached’ regarding a new covid-19 stimulus plan.

This meant that, despite the dollar’s comeback against the pound and euro – the greenback was up 0.6% against both – the Dow Jones had a more than healthy opening. Climbing 240 points, the Dow is now just under 28900, clawing its way to the all-time highs that have already become the norm for the tech-heavy Nasdaq and S&P 500.

The one major caveat this Wednesday was that the ADP nonfarm figure came in at just 428k, compared to the 1.25 million forecast. That’s a major miss, and not a great preview of Friday’s official figures.

Already aggressive in their gains, the US open, and the falls for the pound and euro, ensured that the European session only got better. The DAX led the charge with a 2.2% increase, followed closely by the CAC, which rose 2%.

As for the FTSE, after striking a 3-month low on Tuesday, the UK index reclaimed 95 points, putting it back within touching distance of 5950. A smattering of losses across its oil and banking stocks were more than compensated for by the stellar growth for its housebuilders. News that UK house prices have hit an all-time high thanks to the stamp duty holiday drove the sector forward, with Barratt Developments up 8.6%, Taylor Wimpey up 6.6% and Persimmon and Berkeley up around 5%.

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