With uncertainty, investors should brace themselves for a volatile 2016

On Thursday, the European Central Bank (ECB) is widely expected to announce more monetary stimulus at its policy meeting.

This follows after repeated hints last month from its president Mario Draghi that the bank - which is still only halfway through a 1.1 trillion euro (S$1.64 trillion) bond-buying programme - will "do what it takes" to raise inflation as quickly as possible. Among the measures that analysts are speculating will be announced is a large cut in deposit rates that would take rates deeper into negative territory.

Meanwhile, over in the US, all eyes will be on Friday's October jobs report, which - if it continues to show good growth - will raise expectations of an interest rate hike at the US Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on Dec 15-16. As at this week, the federal funds futures market's probability of rates being raised at that meeting is 70 per cent.