Business news: Santa Rally coming to town, oil gains
By Jenny McCall
12:42, 6 December 2021
Key points
- Economic growth forecast cut: The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) revised down its forecast for gross domestic product (GDP) growth, citing rising costs and supply shortages. The CBI is now forecasting 6.9% growth in GDP for 2021 and 5.1% in 2022. This is revised down from its June forecast of 8.2% growth in 2021 and 6.1% growth in 2022.
- Tech Hit: Technology stocks listed in Hong Kong took a heavy beating on Monday as souring investor sentiment following DiDi Global’s US delisting continued to weigh down the sector.
- Santa Rally coming to town? Chances of a Santa Rally are still good if you look at the historical data. “Historical data implies that the chance for a Santa Rally is 50:50,” noted Alexander Voigt, founder and CEO at daytradingz.com. If markets go up in the last few weeks of December, this is typically referred to as a “Santa Rally”.
- Oil and Omicron: Oil prices climbed today after losing significant ground last week on fears that new coronavirus variants could lead to restrictions around the world.
The move higher is often dubbed the Santa Claus Rally because stocks have returned an average of 2.3% in December since 1936 and generated a positive return 79% of the time.#stock #market #santaclaus #christmas #rally #investment #trade pic.twitter.com/6WhHyp1m97
— nyfxtrade (@nyfxtrade) 6 December 2021
Business and economic news
- Construction grows: Growth in Britain’s construction sector picked up speed in November thanks to an upturn in commercial building projects, purchasing managers in the building industry reported on Monday.
- The London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) announced on Monday that it will buy Quantile Group for £274 million ($363.6m). Quantile was founded in 2015 by former Morgan Stanley banker Stephen O’Connor and provides portfolio management services for derivatives traders.
Markets
Stocks: It was good news for US and European stocks as futures moved higher today, while Asian stocks lagged.
Oil: Oil rallied as Saudi Arabia lifted its crude prices.
Gold: Gold fell on Monday, driven by a stronger dollar and increasing expectations for the US Federal Reserve to reduce its asset purchases at a faster pace amid signs of a tighter labour market.
Forex: The dollar rose today against safe-haven currencies, such as the yen and Swiss franc.
Crypto: Bitcoin was down 1.89% today, and ethereum was down 3.49% today.
What to watch this week
- The US will release its consumer price inflation data on Friday, and investors are eagerly awaiting results.
- Eurozone economic growth will be released on Tuesday, and on Friday the UK will report its GDP figures.
- Australia’s Reserve Bank holds its final monetary policy meeting of the year on Tuesday.
Read more: Will there be a Santa Rally in December 2021?
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