Markets start week with gains after German elections

While last week started with stock markets being shaken by the Evergrande situation which saw global indices dropping to multi-month lows, this week is starting with some upward moves after the SPD party secured a win in the German federal elections. Despite positive sentiment in markets, this was the most likely outcome and didnt come as much of a shock to investors who will be looking towards this week's central bankers for further indication of potential monetary policy changes. While the Euro continues to pull back, it will be important to see if today’s speeches will support the single market currency or if it will push past recent lows, a move which would see it drop to the lowest level since mid-August. 

Central bankers in focus amid rising inflation concerns

While the immediate issue of Evergrande seems to have been temporarily resolved, the company was still unable to make coupon payments last week and uncertainty remains regarding the future of the Chinese developer whose troubles could cause a domino effect through global markets once again. This week there will be many central banker speeches, starting today with ECB president lagarde, which will be followed by several FED speakers and finally conclude with BoE governor Bailey. These will be closely followed by investors, especially after last week’s central bank decisions where most of them chose to remain patient despite increasing pressures to adjust their policy after recent data suggested a widespread rise in inflation and costs.