The German DAX fell by 0.6%, the French KAC fell by 0.2% and the British FTSE index remained stable; In New York there was no trade due to Martin Luther King; Harel economists: “We expect continued optimism in the markets”

Ongoing reporting from leading global markets: important updates, outstanding stocks, bonds, and analyst updates

DAX (11,084.900.46%) KAC (4,841.490.54%) FTSE (6,928.290.61%) Dow Jones (24,706.301.38%) The Dow Jones Industrial Average (7,157.231.03%) S & P 500 (2,670.711.32%)
Today there is no trading in the US – the stock exchanges are on holiday due to Martin Luther King Day.

19:30 – Trading in Europe’s leading stock exchanges was led by price declines: the German DAX fell by 0.6%, the French KAC index fell by 0.2% and the British FTSE index remained stable. The Eurostox 600 Index fell by 0.15%.

18:00 – Trading is going down: the German Ducks and the French CAC are down 0.6%, the PTSE index remains stable.

16:50 – The IMF lowered the growth forecast for the global economy to 3.5%. The previous forecast from October was 3.7%; The growth forecast for the US will be unchanged at 2.5%, but will fall to 1.8% in 2020. China’s growth forecast is 6.2%, and Germany’s forecast is down to 1.3%.

Christine Lagarde International Monetary Fund Chairman Christine Lagarde Chairman of the International Monetary Fund Photo: Reuters
Harel Finance: “We look forward to continued optimism in the markets, in light of the good news from the negotiations between China and the US, and wait for the removal of the uncertainty about the Berkazit.” The market is also looking forward to the continuation of the reporting season, In January, will continue throughout the year. We recommend not making far-reaching changes in portfolios during these volatility periods, not “collecting money from the floor” rather than “running away”. The latest behavior of the share indices, the Tel-Bond Indices, the currencies and even the bonds rated high in short terms, which returned almost all they lost during the first three weeks of December, proves this claim. ”

Bank Leumi’s consulting system: “On Thursday, the fourth consecutive week of price hikes in global stock indices ended, against the background of the increased probability of a trade agreement between the US and China, and the start of the US reporting season. The growth rate is expected to slow further in 2019 in most of the major countries, including the United States. ”

Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa Mei is expected to unveil an updated Berkazit plan (‘Plan B’), which will be submitted to parliament for approval. At this point, prior to the announcement, the pound was trading down 0.2% to $ 1.284. The euro is up 0.1% to $ 1.137.

12:00 AM – The DAX is currently trading down 0.5%, with the worst-performing loser in the index being Deutsche Telekom, which is losing 2.3%.

Companies listed on London’s main stock exchange paid dividends of £ 99.8 billion in 2018, up 5.1 percent from 2017, according to Link Asset Services. The record high was mainly due to higher corporate profits, dividend payments higher than forecast and positive foreign exchange rates, and a 15.6% rise in dividend payments totaling £ 17.3 billion in the fourth quarter.

10:40 – Airline shares are prominent: Air France is up 4.6%, EZjet is up 2.3%, Lufthansa is up 1.3%.

10:30 – European Stock Exchanges: DAX falls by 0.3%, Kak drops by 0.2%, Potsi rises by 0.2%; The euro is up 0.2% and trading at $ 1.138, the pound lost 0.1% to $ 1.286.

10:00 am – British gambling company William Hill is forecasting an end to 2018 with a 15% drop in adjusted operating profit to £ 234 million (William Hill’s previous forecast was £ 245-225 million). William Hill points out that traditional gambling deals with weak market challenges, but online operations continue to perform well this year. US activity closed the year without loss and without profit.

The chairman of the board of directors of GlaxoSmithKline is expected to retire after a four-year term, according to a statement by the pharmaceutical company PTSE.

9:00 – Gold remains stable at the beginning of the week: the contract is trading at $ 1,282.60 per ounce.

7:40 – China’s final GDP data: China’s economy is 2018 with a 6.6% expansion, the lowest rate since 1990, and 6.8% in 2017.

In the background of weakness – the impact of the trade conflict with the US, China’s main trading hub, and the consistent slow decline in Chinese GDP in recent years in light of Beijing’s anti-corruption reforms and the unregulated credit market. The fourth quarter was 6.4%, compared with 6.5% in the corresponding quarter of 2017, and in this case, too, as economists forecast.

On the positive side, China also showed encouraging macro data: industrial production in December rose 5.7% year-on-year, ahead of forecasts for 5.3% growth and 5.4% reading in November. Retail sales rose by 8.2% in December from a year ago, similar to forecasts and after 8.1% in November.

7:20 – A positive trend in the Asian markets at the opening of the trading week: the Nikkei and Hang Seng indexes are up 0.3%, Shanghai is up 0.6%; WTI oil is up 0.4% to $ 54 a barrel, the Brent rising 0.4% to $ 62.9 a barrel.

Today, there is no trading in the US due to Martin Luther King Day, as investors continue to follow developments in the UK on the Berkazit front and after updates from the World Economic Forum in Davos.