European Seen Opening Mixed on Brexit

European traders are seen ringing the opening bell struggling to look for direction. European traders are still digesting a very dovish pivot in regards to monetary policy by the US Federal Reserve Bank on Wednesday. They are also digesting recent headlines surrounding Brexit as the United Kingdom needs more time to avoid a devastating no-deal Brexit scenario on March 29.

The European Union has agreed to grant the United Kingdom until May 22 to avoid a Brexit no-deal exit. This will only happen if the House of Lords adopts the current withdrawal plan on the table. They have voted this down twice. The EU 27 is now voting on the extension. The UK has until next week to avoid a no-deal scenario.

The European benchmark in the United Kingdom, the FTSE, is now seen to open28 points lower at 7,328. Germany’s DAX is seen down twenty points at 11,535 and France’s benchmark CAC is two points higher at 5,383. In Italy, the FTSE MIB up 16 points at open to 20,834. This i according to the IG index.

European Traders Digest Central Bank Headlines

On Wednesday the dovish pivot by the Fed abandon all hopes of a rate hike in 2019 and slashed economic and inflation targets for the year. The Fed is very worried about economic growth and also said they would stop reducing their balance sheet in September.

The Bank of England kept rates unchanged on Thursday. They echoed the Fed’s worries about the global economic outlook and monetary policy would “continue to depend significantly” on the “nature and timing” of the UK leaving the European Union.