European markets finish the week on a high, banks, insurance and food stocks all trading higher.
Strong non-farm payrolls also giving the markets a boost. The US economy creating 227,000 new jobs in January as the jobless rate rises to 4.8%. But there was weak wage growth at 0.1% m/m. Read the market alert for the US jobs data.
GBP/USD is trading lower, breaking out of the rising channel it has been in for the past few months. Bank of America Merrill Lynch says expect another dip “as Article 50 is formally triggered and as the EU formally responds and sets out its negotiating position. We think the crystallization of risks and the start of the countdown to Brexit may prove to be the low in GBP and the opportunity to enter GBP longs.”
Next week is one of the biggest for corporate earnings, among the companies to watch for are Walt Disney, Tesla and Twitter while in the UK, BP and Ryanair will be making headlines.
How much has the price of oil impacted their bottom line? Oil has pushed higher on production cuts, but continued concerns over the impact of President Trump’s policies is keeping oil prices in a tight trading range.
Sign up for Senior Technical Jamie Saettele’s webinar for more technical insight for the week ahead - it begins at 17 GMT. See the webinar schedule for next week.
--- Written by Sara Walker, DailyFX
