EUROPE BEFORE THE BELL: FUTURES INCH UP
European stock index futures are a touch higher on Monday morning, shrugging off renewed missile attacks in the Middle East as the U.S. and Iran agreed to halt fighting and renew talks.
A lot has happened since the market closed on Friday. The U.S. and Iran traded missiles and drone attacks through the weekend, with both sides accusing the other of breaking the interim ceasefire agreed to on June 17.
But as Iran and the U.S. have agreed to halt the recent hostilities, risk sentiment has held up.
Euro STOXX 50 futures EUREX:FESX1! are up 0.2%. The index VELOCITY:STOXX50 fell 1.1% last week, its first weekly drop in six weeks.
Futures on the DAX BMFBOVESPA:DAX1! and FTSE ICEEUR:Z1! are inching higher, while CAC futures (FCEc1) are softer.
JPMorgan has become the latest major bank to up its target for the STOXX 600 TVC:SXXP, now targeting a rise to 680 points by year-end, implying about a 7% rise.
"Risks remain," writes JPMorgan, citing the escalation at the weekend, "but if pricing out of the conflict’s
impact resumes, and if there is internals broadening in 2H, Europe could be looking interesting again."
It's another busy week on the cards. New Fed chief Kevin Warsh attends the ECB's Sintra conference, while U.S. jobs numbers and euro zone inflation readings are on the data calendar.