Markets Overview: (Source: Bloomberg, FT, Reuters, DJ Newswires)

UK 100 Index called to open -5pts at 7420 having bounced overnight from rising lows support, although  failed to overcome falling highs resistance derived from Thursday’s high. Bulls will be hoping for a quick return to a fresh challenge of 7430 resistance for a return to record highs, while Bears will be hoping for a test and break of 7410 rising lows support to open the door for a retracement to 7400 and lower. Watch levels: Bullish 7435, Bearish 7405.

Calls for a flat to negative open come as the US dollar continues to slide further after last week’s Fed-inspired sell-off, impacted by the somewhat frosty summit between US President Trump and his German counterpart Angela Merkel while Trump’s trade Secretary Mnuchin failed to allay fears of rising US protectionism at the G20 meeting in Merkel’s homeland.

Today's lack of significant macro data to provide direction into the new week alongside Crude oil prices failing to capitalise on the weaker greenback and rising geopolitical tensions with North Korea harming sentiment in Asia overnight are also likely to have contributed to the weaker open.

Asian markets provided a mixed bag of performances, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng close to touching a fresh all-time high after a 0.6% rally, in stark contrast to Australia’s ASX and Japan’s Nikkei (note the latter is closed for a national holiday), with both indices trading lower by 0.4%, the former due to commodities weakness despite the weaker dollar while the latter drops due to translational JPY strength.

US bourses finished the week on a negative note, although clung to weekly gains during 2017’s first quadruple witching session. The Dow Jones and the S&P500 both closed 0.1% lower to maintain weekly gains despite Financials weighing on both indices, while the Nasdaq closed marginally higher.

Crude Oil has been unable to use the weaker US dollar to continue its recovery rally from last week’s 3-month lows as rising US production concerns continue to weigh upon the marketplace. With the Baker Hughes Rig Count rising for a 9th straight week, investors will be hoping that OPEC this week will reiterate commitment to production cuts, perhaps going so far as to begin talking up chances of further cuts in June.

Gold has continued its rally that began after Wednesday’s Fed meeting, with the fresh US dollar weakness overnight helping the precious metal to break above the $1231 mark. The next level of resistance the safe-haven asset will be looking to challenge is the $1237, although a packed Fed roster this week may prove to be a hindrance.

A quiet day today for macro data sees the Chicago Fed Activity Index at 12:30pm headlining all releases, with the US economic metric hoping for a return to December’s highest reading since 2015.

Speaker-wise, expect soundbites to be released from the Eurogroup meeting on Greece at 3pm, before noted ECB hawk Wiedmann speaks at 4:45pm while the US Federal Reserve’s Evans at 5:10pm kicks off a week in which nine members of the central bank are scheduled to speak following last week’s monetary policy update.

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UK Company Headlines: (Source: Reuters/DJ Newswires)

• Marston's announces new bank facility to replace £257.5m existing facility
• John Laing says proposal to issue up to 89.8m shares
• Carillion awarded £90m DIO contract in Cyprus
• Asking prices for UK homes show solid gain in Feb – March – Rightmove
• JKX Oil And Gas says full – year loss from ops down to £3.9m
• Kaz Minerals Plc updates on trading halt in HK shares
• Finsbury Food posts H1 revenue of £156.6m
• UK's Phoenix Group raises cash generation target
• Oil drops on rising U.S. drilling, steady OPEC supply
• Gold hits 2 – wk high as Fed rate hike guidance weighs on dollar