Daily Briefing: Long winter

By Tommy Wilkes

Investors’ euphoria over the prospect of speedy rollouts of COVID-19 vaccines is being dampened by the reality that much of the world faces a long winter first in the fight against the virus.

While a New York City nurse became the first person in the United States to receive a coronavirus vaccine this week, the country’s COVID-19 death toll crossed 300,000.

    Rising cases in Asia and news that London is to be put into tighter restrictions from Wednesday also served as a sharp reminder that there remains a long way to go.

    Global stocks slipped even as China’s industrial output numbers showed the country’s economic recovery was underway.

    The EUROSTOXX 50 dipped marginally at the open. E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 were up 0.19% after Monday’s weaker session.

After the blizzard of headlines about Britain and the European Union’s will-they won’t-they Brexit trade deal it might appear that things have turned quiet — but there will be no let-up as both sides try to reach a deal and then ratify it before Dec. 31.

    Sterling’s surge on Monday, triggered by a significant improvement in the mood music in Brussels and London, fizzled and the pound was last around $1.33.

    Attention is now turning to a string of central bank meetings this week — beginning with Federal Reserve’s last 2020 meeting that starts on Tuesday.

    On the corporate front, Sweden’s H&M, the world’s second-biggest fashion retailer, reported net sales 10% lower in local currencies in the fourth quarter.

    Among the pandemic winners are retail trading platforms — IG Group sees a 66% surge in half-year revenue as coronavirus-led volatility in markets stoked strong client activity.

Key developments that could provide more direction to markets on Tuesday:

-U.S. industrial production November data

-Start of U.S. Fed’s two-day policy meeting