European stocks set for a positive open, political risk on the continent remains
The German DAX leads the charge higher, seen up 18 points at 12,967. The U.K. FTSE is set to open up 14 points at 7,553 while the French CAC looks to begin the day’s trading 8 points to the upside at 5,372.
The Spanish government is meeting in the capital Madrid today to shore up its response to the Catalan independence movement. Socialist opposition leader Pedro Sanchez is also set to convene with Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. The prospect of talks means that the Spanish IBEX looks set to begin trading up 68 points at 10,304.
Catalan President Carles Puigdemont and other leaders in the region yesterday signed a document proclaiming independence from Spain, although they also suspended the move for the coming weeks, following an unofficial referendum earlier this month that led to unrest and a loss of business confidence in the region.
Meanwhile in the U.K., Prime Minister Theresa May is to face opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn at Prime Minister’s Questions in parliament for the first time this season.
Yesterday, May said that an agreement with the European Union to secure the rights of expats living in the country post-Brexit was “very close.”
Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon said at the party’s conference yesterday that Brexit strengthened the case for a second independence referendum.
Stateside, U.S. President Donald Trump is in Pensylvannia to discuss his tax reform plan, which involves cutting the rate of corporate tax to 20 percent. Trump said yesterday that his spat with Senator Bob Corker would not impact his bid for a tax overhaul. The U.S. President also met with defense officials yesterday to discuss the nuclear threat from North Korea.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is to release the main chapters of its Global Financial Stability report in Washington D.C., with Managing Director Christine Lagarde and World Bank Jim Yong Kim also set to speak in the U.S. capital ahead of a meeting between the two organisations over the weekend.
Source: CNBC
