Global equities edged lower to close the week, with politics weighing on the minds of many investors. We’re referring to Italy’s vote on a constitutional reform. If the country was to vote ‘NO’ there would likely be a serious ripple sent across financial markets. Some investors are worried what a ‘NO’ vote may mean for the single currency market in the future. Overall as we’ve seen many times this year at the moment caution reigns above the markets, uncertainty may follow a surprise result… And especially in 2016, anything is possible.

US job figures were released today and the jobless rate is now at a nine-year low. During last month 178,000 jobs were created, taking the jobless figure down to 4.6% (October: 4.9%). Wage growth was slightly weaker than expected but overall this was a positive update to suggest the US economy is getting stronger. It also seems like the last hurdle before the Feds rate decision has been cleared, so following the Italian vote investors will no doubt cast their attention straight back to the US Federal Reserve.

The FTSE closes the week at 6730.72, down 0.33% on the day. Banking and resource focused stocks lagged, with RBS at the foot of the table down 3.15%. Berkley Group reported a 34% rise in first half pre-tax profit after selling roughly the same amount of homes but at an average higher price. They did however identify that reservations for new properties had slumped 20%, blamed on increased stamp duty. Shares closed the day 8.45% higher, topping the FTSE 250.

As we write:

GBP/USD: 1.2677

GBP/EUR: 1.1882

Dow Jones: -0.12%

Brent oil Spot: 0.3%