Market Wrap – German bond yield watch

In a quiet US trading session the major European stock losing the day modestly higher, with the Thanksgiving holiday underway markets are still very subdued.

On the day, the German Dax gained +0.01%, while France’s CAC eked out +0.08%. The UK’s FTSE 100 was up +0.27% and Spain’s Ibex +0.34%. Italy’s FTSE MIB bucked the trend with a -0.05% decline

Looking on a weekly basis the German Dax gains +0.76%, while France CAC gained just over +1.02%, with the notable underperformer Italy’s FTSE MIB +0.14%.

The UK’s FTSE 100 posted another impressive weekly gain with +1.37% and Spain’s Ibex was the biggest gainer of the week, post a whopping +3.55% gain.

Elsewhere, the euro currency started to experience slight pressure in the US session as the gap between the 2-year and 10-year German bund yields fell to -27 basis yesterday, which was the widest inversion since October 1992.

It should be noted gap has narrowed slightly now to 24-basis point, however, an inversion of the yield curve as such is typically a signal that recession fears are building.

With rising inflation pressures and the ongoing energy crunch will continue to put the pressure on the European outlook. The only consolation so far is that the start of winter has presented with milder weather than anticipated.

In terms of the major US indices the S&P500 and the Nasdaq100 were lower during the US session, but only marginally, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average traded in positive territory.

The US dollar index remained under pressure and gave back all earlier gains. The British pound was the strongest performing currency against the greenback this week.