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Risk assets pause for breath after QE3 rally

In a quiet day for corporate earnings and economic news markets drifted lower, possibly a result of some profit taking following gains in recent weak as investors cheered US and European Central Bank intervention. Risk assets had risen in anticipation of these events, and following the delivery from Ben Bernanke and Mario Draghi, it was suggested investors were pausing to contemplate how much upside could be left in markets.

Brent oil was slightly off the multi-month high of $118/bbl it reached on Friday, falling a few points to $116/bbl. The commodity has been buoyed by news of money printing, but risks that higher prices will reduce global growth (and therefore oil demand) appeared to be limiting the upside at present. Geopolitical factors, such as tensions between Israel and Iran, will likely be important factors in determining the oil price.

The FTSE 100 lost22 points, close to 0.4%, to finish at 5893. Gains in some of the defensive sectors that missed out on most of the rally were not sufficient to offset the multi-percent declines in mining stocks that had previously led the market higher.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by James .