10 Things You Need To Know Before European Markets Open
European Retail Sales Are Coming. At 10 a.m. GMT, eurozone retail sales will be announced for November. That's a key month for the bloc since it's when many shoppers start buying for Christmas. Economists are expecting a 0.1% increase in sales from October.
The Fed Hinted That It Will Probably Not Raise Rates For A Little While. The key passage from December's policy statement, released yesterday, was: "Based on its current assessment, the Committee judges that it can be patient in beginning to normalize the stance of monetary policy." It also said that Fed policymakers would want to be certain about inflation moving back to 2%, from 1.3% in November.
Samsung Profits Are Way Off. Samsung Electronics on Thursday said its fourth-quarter profit likely fell 37.4%, confirming expectations for its first year of profit decline since 2011 as it struggles to retain its crown as global smartphone leader.German Factory Orders Saw A Big Miss. Orders were down 2.4% in the month to November, and 0.4% compared to the same month last year. That was much lower than expectations for a small rise.
Asian Markets Saw A Better Day. After several poor trading sessions, the Nikkei closed 1.67% higher, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng is also up 0.62% currently. The Shanghai Composite, however, is currently down 2.35%.
LG Shares Spiked. Shares of South Korean consumer electronics maker LG Electronics Inc rose sharply early on Thursday, buoyed by expectations for healthy earnings in 2015 as well as bargain-hunting. Shares are up by more than 3.67%.
Standard Chartered May Shut Down Its Equities Business. Standard Chartered is closing its cash equities and equities underwriting businesses, people with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Thursday, exiting a division that had struggled for profitability since the bank re-entered the segment in 2010.
A Suspect In The Charlie Hebdo Shootings Handed Himself In To Police. An 18-year old man sought by police over Wednesday's shooting attack at satirical weekly magazine Charlie Hebdo handed himself voluntarily to police in northeastern France, an official at the Paris prosecutor's office said.
Germany's Angela Merkel Offered Lukewarm Support To David Cameron. Merkel expressed support for the idea of EU renegotiation, which Cameron has made a key part of his platform, but stopped short of concrete measures. Merkel has already confirmed that she will not support any attempts to weaken the EU's freedom of movement, according to the FT.
Chinese Companies Are Already Making Fake Apple Watches. Apple hasn't even announced when the watch will go on sale, but copycat models are being displayed at the CES trade show in Las Vegas. Chinese clones look like they're going to beat Apple to market.