CEEMEA OPEN: Pipeline still empty, expected to pick up in January

• The Dollar (-0.2%) is softer to trade at ~108.308 at writing on the first day back from New Year's holiday, easing off slightly after notching a 26-month high at 108.582 on Tue. From a broader perspective, the one-way climb seen in the greenback Sep has so far clocked ~2.5% gain in the past month.

• US stock futures are all in material positive territory, led by the +0.7% NASDAQ, even as the FBI says an Islamic State group flag was found in the truck and they are investigating the attack that led to 15 deaths in New Orleans as an "act of terrorism,

• Meanwhile, Bbg reports that US President-elect Donald Trump said he would lobby House Republicans to help elect Mike Johnson as speaker if needed, acknowledging that some lawmakers in the party had reservations about allowing him to retain the gavel.

• A five-year agreement permitting the transit of Russian gas to Europe through Ukraine has ended. While the EU has significantly reduced its reliance on Russian gas since the onset of the war in Ukraine, several member states continue to depend on shipments routed via Ukraine.

• Brent climbed to a 7.5wk peak of $75.22/brl overnight before pulling back to $74.78/brl, at writing. WTI is off a 10wk high of $72.29/brl to $71.86/brl current.

• In the markets, the S&P500 is down 0.43% and Nasdaq 100 - 0.10% but the futures are up 0.51% and 0.73%, respectively. Asia-Pac equity markets enter 2025 in the red territory due to slowing economic data and the threat of higher US tariffs. Nikkei -0.96% and Hang Seng -2.27%, although ASZ +0.52%.

• Major European markets return to most cash markets in the green, although DAX the laggard (-0.38%).

Fresh in the CEEMEA Pipeline

• No new additions to pipeline.

On the Radar

• The pipeline paused ahead of the seasonal break, but this might signal a particularly active January for CEEMEA. Issuers may choose to frontload supply in the coming weeks, anticipating central bank decisions from the ECB and Fed later this month, as well as President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20.

• It’s worth noting the Poland’s preliminary estimates show that the country has prefinanced at least 25% of its 2025 borrowing needs, according to Deputy Finance Minister Drop.

Priced Deals

• No new priced deals.

What to watch on Thursday

• In CEEMEA, Hungary and Polanad Manuf PMI (8GMT) kicks off the data slate before we receive the Czechia print (8.30GMT).

• In the US, just weekly initial and continuing claims are scheduled. The former is seen up to 221k vs 219k last.

• There are no central bankers scheduled to speak today.

Wider market Sentiment

• USD Index at 108.33
• UST 2yr/10yr at 4.235%/4.573%
• Bund 2yr/10yr at 2.073%/2.362%
• Brent at $74.87/brl

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