European stock markets are narrowly mixed, with FTSE 100 posting slight gains together with the Spanish IBEX, while CAC 40, the DAX and Italian MIB are down. The FTSE 100 is clawing back some of yesterday’s losses as Sterling retreats from yesterday’s highs seen in the wake of May’s Brexit speech. Overall the latest Trump jitters have abated and Asian stocks managed to come back with the Nikkei closing with a 0.43% gains as the Yen came off. Hong Kong outperformed and most Chinese shares gained amid speculated state intervention to ensure more stability as President Xi Jinping visits Davos for the World Economic Forum. U.S. stock futures are also higher but investors remain hesitant and at least in Europe gains are very muted and oil prices are down on the day.

WTI futures are down just over 1.5%, at $51.74, earlier making a one-week low at $51.57. Last week’s five-week low is at $50.71. Prices remain some 14.5% up on last year’s average price of $45.0. The broad rebound in the dollar today has prompted selling in the crude market, which follows the latest EIA drilling productivity report, published Tuesday, saying that U.S. output was set to increase in February.

Eurozone Construction Output Stabilized in November

Eurozone construction output stagnated in November, as a 2.2% year over year rise in civil engineering was counterbalanced by a -0.6% year over year contraction in building construction. Over the month, building rose 0.3% month over month, while civil engineering rebounded 1.0% month over month, following a -0.9% month over month drop in October.

German house price inflation accelerates sharply, with the Europace home price index showing a rise of 10.2% year over year in December last year, a further acceleration from the already strong 9.7% year over year in November. New home prices are picking up at a very quick pace and while the rise is partly driven by demand, which is continuing to be fueled also by the large influx of refugees, the data will add to concerns in Germany that the ECB’s very expansionary policy is leading to unsustainable bubbles.

UK PM May warned that the UK will walk away from any bad deal and when combined with hotter than expected UK inflation cause a rally in the pound which has given back some of its gains in Wednesday.  The populism movement in set in stone in the UK and the PM is also providing the backdrop for a rally in UK stocks.