Investing.com - Here are the top five things you need to know in financial markets on Monday, February 27:
1. Global stocks in holding pattern before Trump speech
U.S. stock market futures pointed to a muted open near all-time highs on Monday morning, as investors looked ahead to President Donald Trump's speech to Congress on Tuesday, where he is expected to provide clues on his plans to cut taxes.
President Trump has been credited with being a major catalyst behind the stock market's impressive rally in recent weeks, although he has yet to outline his economic policies in detail.
In Europe, stocks were mixed in mid-morning trade, but held near their best levels since late 2015.
Earlier, in Asia, markets ended mostly lower, with the Shanghai Composite in China closing down around 0.8%, while Japan's Nikkei dropped about 0.9%.
2. Dollar treads water ahead of busy week
The dollar was little changed against the other major currencies on Monday as traders avoided taking strong positions before President Trump’s address to Congress, a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and important economic data in the week ahead.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was steady at 101.05 in New York morning trade.
Treasury yields inched higher after falling to a five-week low of 2.31% on Friday, with the U.S. 10-Year bond at around 2.338%.
Against the yen, the dollar added 0.1% to 112.24, after falling to a low of 111.92 earlier in the session, its lowest since February 9.
Meanwhile, the euro was up 0.2% on the day at 1.0582, as concerns about France's upcoming election eased following favorable opinion polls for independent presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron.
3. Trump to meet with health insurers
President Donald Trump will meet with top executives from the health insurance industry at the White House on Monday.
Cigna (NYSE:CI)'s chief executive officer, David Cordani, and Humana (NYSE:HUM) CEO Bruce Broussard are among a group of industry leaders due to meet with the president. The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, which represents insurers in every state, will also attend.
Trump has pledged to repeal and replace Obamacare, former President Barack Obama's national healthcare law that redesigned the U.S. insurance market for individuals. It is not clear yet what Republicans will agree upon to replace the current insurance. Insurers say any new plans are not likely to hit the market before 2019.
4. Scottish referendum fears weigh on pound
The British pound dropped against all its major peers on Monday, following a report of a possible Scottish independence referendum in March.
GBP/USD skidded 0.3% to 1.2428, after touching a daily low of 1.2385, a level not seen since February 15, while EUR/GBP gained 0.3% to 0.8515.
Sterling was pressured after The Times reported that U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May is preparing for the Scottish government to call a second independence referendum, which will reportedly coincide with the triggering of Article 50 expected in March.
On Friday, the pound began to slide after the Independent newspaper reported the Scottish government is seriously considering a second independence referendum next year.
5. LSE, Deutsche Boerse deal in jeopardy
London Stock Exchange Group (LON:LSE) said its proposed merger with Deutsche Boerse (DE:DB1Gn) was unlikely to be approved by the European Commission, leaving the stock market operators' third attempt at combining on the brink of failure.
The two exchanges announced plans to merge in a 29 billion euro deal just over a year ago, aiming to create a giant trading powerhouse that would better compete against U.S. rivals that were starting to encroach on the pair's turf.
But the LSE said late Sunday it wouldn’t sell its majority-owned fixed-income trading platform in Italy to appease antitrust concerns over the deal.
Shares of LSE lost more than 3% in London, while Deutsche Boerse shares dropped 3% in Frankfurt.