CFD Markets News and Forecasts — 01-12-2017

U.S. stock-index futures were lower on Friday, as investors' sentiment was hurt somewhat by a delay of Senate vote on a tax-reform bill.

Global Stocks:

Nikkei 22,819.03 +94.07 +0.41%

Hang Seng 29,074.24 -103.11 -0.35%

Shanghai 3,317.81 +0.62 +0.02%

S&P/ASX 5,989.76 +19.86 +0.33%

FTSE 7,344.59 +17.92 +0.24%

CAC 5,355.54 -17.25 -0.32%

DAX 12,969.20 -54.78 -0.42%

Crude $57.80 (+0.70%)

Gold $1,295.00 (+0.01%)

(company / ticker / price / change ($/%) / volume)

EURUSD: 1.1875 (EUR 600m) 1.1900 (765m) 1.1930 (850m)

USDJPY: 112.65 (USD 800m) 112.70 (205m) 113.00 (610m)

GBPUSD: Ntg of note

USDCHF: 0.9800 (USD 750m)

EURGBP: 0.8738 (EUR 910m)

AUDUSD: Ntg of note

USDCAD: 1.2850 (USD 780m)

Real gross domestic product (GDP) rose 0.2% in September after edging down 0.1% in August. Goods-producing (+0.4%) and services-producing (+0.1%) industries rose as 12 of 20 industrial sectors grew, led by the mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction sector.

The mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction sector was up 0.7% in September after declining for three consecutive months.

The oil and gas extraction subsector rose 1.0% after declining in each of the three previous months. Conventional oil and gas extraction was up 3.4%, led by increased natural gas extraction. Crude petroleum production was also up after declining in August, which was partly due to scheduled maintenance shutdowns in Newfoundland and Labrador. Non-conventional oil extraction declined 1.6%, the third decrease in four months.

Employment increased for the second consecutive month, up 80,000 in November. The unemployment rate fell by 0.4 percentage points to 5.9%, the lowest rate since February 2008.

In the 12 months to November, employment was up by 390,000 (+2.1%), with all the gains attributable to full-time work (+441,000 or +3.0%) as part-time employment was down slightly. Over the same period, total hours worked grew by 1.0%.

The unemployment rate trended downwards in the 12 months to November, falling 0.9 percentage points over this period.

In November, employment increased for women 55 and older, for youth aged 15 to 24, and for core-aged men (25 to 54). There was little change for the other demographic groups.

Employment rose in Ontario, British Columbia, Quebec and Prince Edward Island. At the same time, fewer people were employed in New Brunswick, while there was little change in the other provinces.

• There's a reasonable case for a rate hike in december

November saw the UK manufacturing sector move up a gear, with rates of increase in new orders and production among the best registered over the past four years. This tested capacity and encouraged further job creation, with employment rising to the greatest extent since June 2014.

The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 58.2 in November, up from 56.6 in October (originally reported as 56.3), its highest level since August 2013. The reading is the tenth-best registered during the near 26-year series history. The latest survey was conducted between 13-27 November

Strong accelerated expansions in production and new orders, aided by series-record growth in new export business, underpinned the steepest increase in employment since the survey began in June 1997. The final IHS Markit Eurozone Manufacturing PMI rose to 60.1 in November, its best reading apart from April 2000's series-record high. The headline PMI has now remained above the neutral 50.0 mark for 53 months, with the latest figure slightly above the earlier flash estimate of 60.0.

Germany's manufacturing sector saw near-record growth in November, as new orders, exports and employment all rose at rates close to the peaks seen in 2010-11, according to the latest PMI survey data from IHS Markit and BME. The stronger pace of expansion led to greater pressure on capacity, however, with backlogs growing at the second-fastest rate ever recorded and input delivery delays among the worst seen in the survey's 21-year history. Price pressures also heated up, reaching the highest in just over six-anda-half years.

The headline IHS Markit/BME Germany Manufacturing PMI - a single-figure snapshot of the performance of the manufacturing economy - moved to 62.5 in November, rising from 60.6 in October. The latest reading was the second-highest seen since the survey began in April 1996, exceed only by February 2011's 62.7.

Business conditions in the Spanish manufacturing sector improved to the greatest extent in close to 11 years in November. Output growth hit a two-and-ahalf year high amid another marked increase in new orders. In fact, new export business rose at a nearrecord pace. This was also the case with regard to employment, which increased at the fastest rate since April 1998.

Growth in the Japanese manufacturing sector gathered momentum in the latest survey period. New business expanded at the fastest rate since March 2014, while rising demand from China supported a nine-month high in export growth. In turn, firms raised production to the greatest extent in 45 months.

The headline Nikkei Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) - a composite single-figure indicator of manufacturing performance - increased in November to 53.6, from 52.8 in October. This signalled the strongest improvement in manufacturing sector conditions since March 2014

Chinese manufacturing sector operating conditions continued to improve in November, albeit at a marginal pace. Output and new orders both rose only modestly, leading to a softer expansion in buying activity. At the same time, companies faced a further sharp increase in average input costs, that led to a notable rise in selling prices. Efforts to cut costs contributed to another fall in staffing levels, with the rate of decline quickening to a three-month record. Subdued growth in new work and a sustained fall in employment coincided with a reduction in business confidence towards the one-year outlook. Notably, firms expressed the joint-weakest degree of optimism on record.

EUR/USD

Resistance levels (open interest**, contracts)

$1.2020 (5449)

$1.1984 (4234)

$1.1955 (5606)

Price at time of writing this review: $1.1918

Support levels (open interest**, contracts):

$1.1874 (1096)

$1.1853 (2435)

$1.1824 (2552)

Comments:

- Overall open interest on the CALL options and PUT options with the expiration date December, 8 is 163555 contracts (according to data from November, 30) with the maximum number of contracts with strike price $1,1500 (8975);

GBP/USD

Resistance levels (open interest**, contracts)

$1.3611 (2668)

$1.3586 (3077)

$1.3567 (1916)

Price at time of writing this review: $1.3525

Support levels (open interest**, contracts):

$1.3469 (331)

$1.3444 (1019)

$1.3376 (968)

Comments:

- Overall open interest on the CALL options with the expiration date December, 8 is 57819 contracts, with the maximum number of contracts with strike price $1,3400 (3589);

- Overall open interest on the PUT options with the expiration date December, 8 is 49246 contracts, with the maximum number of contracts with strike price $1,3000 (3978);

- The ratio of PUT/CALL was 0.85 versus 0.87 from the previous trading day according to data from November, 30

* - The Chicago Mercantile Exchange bulletin (CME) is used for the calculation.

** - Open interest takes into account the total number of option contracts that are open at the moment.

European stocks ended a choppy session on a down note Thursday. The pan-European index was supported by broad-based gains in the banking sector, after Credit Suisse Group AG provided an upbeat outlook and vowed to return a large chunk of profits to investors. Oil companies, however, lost ground as oil prices turned mixed as OPEC agreed to extend output curbs.

U.S. stocks rallied Thursday, with the Dow finishing above 24,000 for the first time in history, as investors grew more optimistic about the prospects for a tax overhaul out of Washington. All major indexes closed higher for the month, with the S&P 500 and Dow logging new records, while the blue-chip index set its longest streak of monthly gains in more than 22 years.

Asia-Pacific stocks largely returned to positive territory by midday, with Chinese equities recovering from much of their early declines. After opening slightly lower, Shenzhen stocks - where smaller companies are generally listed, as opposed to more industrial-focused and state-owned firms in Shanghai - rebounded.