It has been a sluggish start to the week for stocks around the world. The Dax and a number of continental markets are closed for a holiday. US index futures and the Nikkei are down slightly while the FTSE is down 0.3%. The main economic news overnight has been Service PMI reports which were better than expected for China and Japan but softer than expected in the UK.
In currency markets, the spotlight is on sterling with the UK election on Thursday. Campaigning resumes today after being suspended following the tragic terrorist attack on London Saturday night. GBP is up today after four polls came out Sunday giving the Conservatives leads of 12, 11, 4 and 1 percentage points (7 point lead on average).
Gold is hanging on to Friday's gains while the yen has dropped back a bit and CAD is up slightly. USD is mixed as traders continue to react to last Friday's nonfarm payrolls report. Fed speculation continues with US non-manufacturing PMI out today. Last week's FOMC member comments pointed to a June hike but things look more uncertain after that.
Crude oil remains under pressure despite reports that Egypt, Saudi Arabia and other allies have moved to isolate Qatar over its relationship with Iran. Trading action suggests that so far markets see this as more of a diplomatic tiff so far that likely won’t impact a global energy market that currently is well supplied.