European equity markets are expected to open higher on Monday, although trading is likely to be relatively light given the US bank holiday which helped drive similar conditions in Asia overnight.

It would appear were still in a kind of trance at the moment whereby equity markets continue to shuffle higher in the hope that Donald Trump will deliver on his fiscal stimulus, tax and deregulation plans and yet, theres no conviction in the rallys. This isnt overly surprising given the amount of political risk at the moment but you wonder how much longer we can remain in this state before we wake up.

Risk Aversion Percolates

Thats not necessarily to say markets are going to collapse or even enter correction but I think were nearing the point at which investors may start demanding something a little more concrete. Its difficult to ignore the moves in Gold and the yen alongside this which typically accompany more risk averse conditions. Perhaps it just reflects underlying uncertainty which is a concern.

Gold is actually trading a little lower so far today having interestingly failed to break above the high from 8 August, despite coming very close. The next big test for Gold will now come around $1,216.73, last weeks lows, with a break through here possibly triggering a move back below $1,200 towards $1,180.63.

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As mentioned above, with it being a bank holiday in the US today, we could be looking at a slightly quieter session. We have some scatterings of low level data throughout the day but nothing that I would expect will cause too much of a jolt in the markets. The Reserve Bank of Australia minutes from its recent meeting, released overnight, will likely be the next event of note.

For a look at all of todays economic events, check out our economic calendar.

This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all.You could lose all of your deposited funds.

Based in London, England, Craig Erlam joined OANDA in 2015 as a Market Analyst. With more than five years' experience as a financial market analyst and trader, he focuses on both fundamental and technical analysis while conducting macroeconomic commentary. He has been published by The Financial Times, Reuters, the BBC and The Telegraph, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on Bloomberg TV, CNBC, FOX Business and BNN. Craig holds a full membership to the Society of Technical Analysts and he is recognized as a Certified Financial Technician by the International Federation of Technical Analysts.

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Investors in a Trance as Stocks Shuffle Higher - MarketPulse - MarketPulse (blog)