Last Weeks Market Movements

Wide swings on Thursday exacerbated steady declines on major indices from early in the week.

Banks continued to show overall weakness. While RBS’ smaller than expected net losses were received favourably, Lloyds underwhelmed expectations with only a slight improvement from its 2008 losses.

Political concerns plagued currencies, with the Euro continuing to suffer against most of its pairings as the Greek debt crisis resurfaced in the news.

It held against Sterling though, as fears of a hung Parliament in the UK contributed to a decline against the Dollar. Cable is down 6.47% so far this year.

The Week Ahead

Personal Income & Outlays figures and the ISM Manufacturing Report kick off the week.

HSBC is following Lloyds’ footsteps with more bad news for the banking sector on Monday.

Homebuilding and construction reports from Taylor Wimpey and Balfour Beatty on Wednesday and Thursday follow Barratt Developments’ report last week.

Also on Wednesday is the EIA Petroleum Status Report, and Thursday sees the Pending Home Sales Index.

Both the Bank of England and ECB will make rate announcements Thursday, and EU Q4 GDP data will also be released then. Monthly US Employment figures come out Friday, and Boeing will release quarterly earnings.

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