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Market machinations never cease to amaze me. Last week saw that extraordinary three-day stock market rally in the US and Europe – DJIA up by 21% and the FTSE 100 up by 16.5%. Yet the economic data, though much of it temporary, is dire – unemployment forecasts from respected economist suggesting 8.5% in the UK by July. Then the St Louis FED is of the opinion than 47 million Americans could lose their jobs in the second quarter amid the coronavirus pandemic, sending the unemployment rate to 32%.

“So, we'll go no more a roving

So late into the night,

Though the heart be still as loving,

And the moon be still as bright.

For the sword outwears its sheath,

And the soul wears out the breast,

And the heart must pause to breathe,

And love itself have rest.

I have lived through the 1974/5 miners’ strike, the 1987 crash, the Russian credit crisis in 1998, the Iraq War in 2003, the Banking crisis 2008, never have I seen a rally of the magnitude that I saw yesterday. In New York it was the largest daily rally since 1933.

"A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:
Its lovliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness; but still will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.
Therefore, on every morrow, are we wreathing
A flowery band to bind us to the earth,
Spite of despondence, of the inhuman dearth
Of noble natures, of the gloomy days,
Of all the unhealthy and o'er-darkn'd ways
Made for our searching: yes, in spite of all,

“When I go up through the mowing field,
The headless aftermath,
Smooth-laid like thatch with the heavy dew,
Half closes the garden path.

And when I come to the garden ground,
The whir of sober birds
Up from the tangle of withered weeds
Is sadder than any words

A tree beside the wall stands bare,
But a leaf that lingered brown,
Disturbed, I doubt not, by my thought,
Comes softly rattling down.

“This was Mr Bleaney’s room. He stayed
The whole time he was at the Bodies, till
They moved him.’ Flowered curtains, thin and frayed,
Fall to within five inches of the sill,

Whose window shows a strip of building land,
Tussocky, littered. ‘Mr Bleaney took
My bit of garden properly in hand.’
Bed, upright chair, sixty-watt bulb, no hook

Veteran City Commentator David Buik joins Aquis Exchange in March 2020 and his incisive views on market developments will be posted here each week.

The start of 2020 has sparked a flurry of memories of how things have changed over the past decade or two. The days when national markets were the norm, and ‘Monopoly’ wasn’t just a board game but a descriptor of European National exchanges, are consigned to the records of the ‘noughties’.

Twelve years since the advent of competition in European equities, one major component of trading remains resistant to change. Presently, some 20% of on-order book equities trading in Europe takes place in the closing auctions. For some markets this is closer to 25-30%.

Equity traders have been through the mill of late.  Markets rebounded sharply from the trough late last year only to see prices battered in the spring by ongoing geopolitical tensions. The month of May was particularly rocky with trade talks between the US and China breaking down yet again and UK Prime Minister Theresa May finally throwing in the leadership towel. Finding liquidity can be even trickier in these turbulent times which is why it is crucial to have venues such as Aquis Exchange consistently offering the deepest of pools. 

Aquis Exchange Working On Tool To Help Make Sense Of Data

MiFID II has just celebrated its first birthday and market participants are still coming to grips with RTS 27 and the Best Execution requirements. The first half report card was not encouraging although progress, albeit slowly, is being made. However, market participants will have to pick up the pace as regulators will certainly be bearing down this year.