Weak data from US pushed the markets lower
US stocks traded lower on Wednesday as the jobless claims data and household incomes came below expectations: initial jobless claims rose for the second consecutive week – 778k vs 730k expected while the household incomes fall 0.7% vs 0.1% expected. S&P lost 0.2%, Dow dropped by 0.6%. On the side note, FOMC Meeting Minutes showed the readiness of FED to make changes to their asset purchase programme if circumstances shifted, potentially to make new actions however not immediate.
US markets are closed today for the Thanksgiving holiday.
FTSE 100 closed -0.6% lower as the UK Chancellor Sunak warned that the economic fallout of the Covid-19 crisis had only just begun. He also said that he coronavirus pandemic would raise government borrowing this year to a record of £394bn with a projection of 7.5% of unemployment by the Q2 2021.
Oil prices gained for a fifth consecutive day yesterday, Brent added 1.5% (closed USD 48.61 per barrel) while today it is trading 1.5% lower so far. EIA data showed that the US oil inventories declined by 754,000 bbl last week, confounding expectations that they would rise.
Rub ccy closed flat on Wednesday, 75.58 per USD while the sov Eurobonds traded slightly lower. Ministry of Finance sold RUB 17.8 bn of new RFLB 28 during its weekly auction yesterday with a bid-to-cover ratio of 1.3.
SSA closed higher yesterday albeit off intraday highs as the space pulled back towards the end of the session. ANGOL and IVYCST saw significant demand closing over a point higher with the new IVYCST 32E coming off from highs of 2pts above re-offer to close 1.25pts up. ETHOPI was the pick of the day surging over 2pts as it played catch up on the recent rally even as the Tigray conflict continues. The space opening largely flat this morning with oil opening weaker.