London View

Scotland Decides its Future, Alibaba Shares to be Priced

It’s decision time for Scotland, with today’s referendum set to determine whether the country will remain in the UK or establish (or re-establish) itself as an independent state. In the past couple of weeks as the polls have narrowed and an independent Scotland has become a real possibility, markets have had to face up to some tough questions. Will a separate Scottish state be able to keep the pound? Will an independent Scotland pay its share of UK debt? Will some of Scotland’s largest companies move their base of operations south in the event of the country leaving the UK, as they have warned?

So far today the FTSE is up by around 0.4%, whilst Sterling is up against all major currencies. Whether this will continue to be the case after the first round of exit polls remains to be seen.

In other news, Alibaba shares are due to be priced this evening, with the e-commerce titan making its debut on the New York Stock Exchange tomorrow morning. If fully subscribed, the firm will break the record for the largest IPO in history. However, despite its launch on the NYSE, as a non-USA firm Alibaba will not be subsequently added to the S&P500.

The Dow and S&P both closed up yesterday, the former by 0.15% and the latter by 0.13%, with the Federal Reserve once again announcing an intention to keep rates low ‘for a considerable time’. As things stand, the Fed is due to end its bond-buying programme next month after a further $10 billion reduction in September.