A somewhat busy day for markets around the world, with the exclusion of the US where markets are closed due to the Thanksgiving public holiday.

The Euro took off as the USD weakened overnight. The pair went from low of $1.17334 and rocketed up as high as $1.18260. It has since retreated back from those highs and is currently trading at $1.18166. The pound ended the night in much stronger territory, despite tanking after the release of the Autumn Forecast Statement. It plummeted to lows of $1.32115 just after the announcement, then it staged a remarkable turnaround to climb as high as $1.33285. It has since come back slightly to its current level of $1.33195.

US stocks were a mixed bag, the Dow falling over 100 points from its highs of 23,620.00 to its current level of 23,504.00. The NASDAQ was reasonably flat, adding around 10 points from its lows. It is currently trading at 6,382.40. The S&P 500 has retreated slightly off its highs of 2,601.10 to its current level of 2,594.87. The DAX got hammered overnight as political uncertainty over Angela Merkel’s future in the top job wreaked havoc with the German market. It plummeted from heights of 13,191.95 to 12,962.10. It has since climbed slightly to where it currently sits at 12,977.30. The FTSE went on a bit of a roller coaster ride overnight, going from lows 7,405.25 up to highs of 7,460.13, then giving up most of those gains as it is now trading at 7,416.50.

Gold found some friends again overnight, climbing from $1,278 to its present level of $1,290.91.

The most significant piece of data for markets tonight is the Second Estimate GDP from the UK. This denotes growth in the economy. This figure may cause more volatility to the pound, especially as it comes close after the release of the Autumn Forecast Statement. Other data set for release today includes:

Canada – Retail & Core Retail Sales

UK – Prelim Business Investment, Index of Services, CBI Realised Sales

Europe – European, German and French Flash Manufacturing & Services PMIs, German Final GDP, ECB Monetary Policy Meeting Accounts, Belgian NBB Business Climate, SNB Chairman Jordan speaks