09 February 2012 at 14:12 GMT
Is the Greek drama over?
News is out that a deal has been reached on Greece, with Greek politicians agreeing on the last reforms and auterity measures. The DAX Index immediately jumped on the news but then lost some fuel after Draghi managed yet again to talk down the markets with his view on the Eurozone.
Source: Bloomberg
On the Greek deal, it seems like it went through as we have been saying all along. We believe it is the best solution for Greece at this point as these reforms are the only way forward to a more competitive economy.
ECB sees sign of stabilisation in Eurozone
The ECB kept the benchmark interest rate unchanged today at one percent and at 13:30 GMT the ECB President Mario Draghi initiated his press conference. Here he said that surveys confirm stabilisation and that stress in the financial system is declining. ECB is also of the view that the inflation outlook remains broadly balanced and economic outlook faces downside risks. Draghi also confirmed that Greek party leaders have reached an agreement with the Troika. After killing the momentum in stocks, Draghi has convinced investors that the situation is stabilising and the DAX Index has since climbed back up and is now trading 0.9 percent higher for the session.
US job data improves again, futures are up 0.3 percent
Initial jobless claims came at 358K, beating estimates of 370K and pushing the 4 week moving average down to 366K, the lowest since April 2008. The US labour market continues to improve.
Source: Bloomberg
S&P 500 Index futures are up 0.2 percent ahead of the open driven by news of a Greek agreement and good job data.