Asia
Wall Street’s higher close on Friday gave Asian equity markets the impetus to begin the new trading week higher. Japan’s market-capitalisation-weighted Topix index was the biggest riser in percentage terms, rising around 0.5% to 1,883. The Nikkei index was also higher on Friday’s close, but Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and China’s CSI 300 struggled on Monday as the Chinese yuan rose on a higher currency fixing from the country’s central bank. China releases GDP numbers on Thursday, which are expected to show that the country’s economic output grew 6.8% year on year in the last quarter.
Europe
The UK’s biggest corporate news is that UK construction firm Carillion (CLLN) has filed for compulsory liquidation. The company had been in recent bailout talks with the UK government but on Monday the announcement came that there would be no rescue. Carillion’s share price crashed in the summer of 2017 amid concerns about its long-term future. The company’s listed rivals, such as Serco (SRP) and Balfour Beatty (BBY) gained on the news.
UK inflation figures are released on Tuesday. They are expected to show that consumer price inflation rose 3% in December, lower than the 3.1% seen in November. Bank of England policymakers have been forecasting that the recent rise in inflation is temporary, and the latest data will test this hypothesis.
European exchanges were held back another good day for the euro. The single currency broke through the $1.20 level last week and made a move towards $1.23 on Monday morning, the highest level since late 2014.
North America
The US stock market is closed as the country observes Martin Luther King day as a public holiday. Monday’s holiday represents a pause before the earnings season revs up again this week. Banks are in focus: Citigroup (C) reports before the open on Tuesday, Bank of America (BAC) and Goldman Sachs (GS) release earnings on Wednesday, while on Thursday Morgan Stanley (MS) reports.
Canada’s Toronto Stock Exchange is open as normal. The country’s housing market is in focus on Monday with existing home sales data for December released