Morning Briefing: Brexit in focus as talks begin

Brexit in focus as talks begin

World markets are focused on political developments in Europe as the new trading week begins.

Brexit talks between the UK and EU start Monday with greater uncertainty now than before the ill-fated general election which left the UK’s ruling Conservative party forced to link with 10 Northern Ireland MPs in order to govern.

The weaker position will be seized on by EU officials, especially as political strength in France for pro-EU President Emmanuel Macron was boosted Sunday by parliamentary elections.

Asian indexes closed mostly higher with little regional data in focus.

European equities are trending higher too. Brexit talks and a suspected terrorist attack on a London mosque late Sunday are the talk of the markets.

Wall Street and Toronto are expected to open higher.
 

	Latest	1 month ago	1 year ago
North America (previous session)
US Dow Jones	21,384.28 (+0.11 per cent)	+2.79 per cent	+20.98 per cent
TSX Composite	15,192.54 (+0.21 per cent)	-1.72 per cent	+9.28 per cent
Europe (at 5.00am ET)
UK FTSE	7,508.51 (+0.60 per cent)	+0.51 per cent	+24.70 per cent
German DAX	12,859.44 (+0.84 per cent)	+1.75 per cent	+33.52 per cent
Asia (at close)
China CSI 300	3,553.67 (+0.99 per cent)	+4.40 per cent	+14.25 per cent
Japan Nikkei	20,067.75 (+0.62 per cent)	+2.43 per cent	+28.64 per cent
Other Data (at 5.00am ET)
Oil (Brent)	Oil (WTI)	Gold	Can. Dollar
47.49 (+0.25 per cent)	44.84 (+0.22 per cent)	1253.10 (-0.27 per cent)	U$0.7559
			Aus. Dollar
			U$0.7609

Investors in US banks await pay-out after Fed stress test results

Investors in US banks could benefit from the results of the Fed’s stress test results due Thursday.

The report may mean that banks will be able to use around $150 billion in capital reserves for stock buy-backs and dividends, Reuters reports.

There is little expectation that the Fed will make any significant changes to the periodic stress tests but allowing a reduction of capital requirements for banks should mean a windfall for shareholders.

Along with dividends and buy-backs, some of the released capital is likely to be used for investments, which would create potential for greater long-term returns for investors.