London View

Positive PMI Figures for Germany, Less Positive PMI Figures for the Euro Zone as a Whole

Yesterday’s release of FOMC minutes saw USD rise against both the Euro and the Yen, as the meeting suggested a shift towards a more hawkish stance by the Fed. The Yen’s loss, however, was the Nikkei’s gain as the Japanese Index continued to rise, closing up 0.85% at 15,86.20, a three-week high.

The FTSE 100 is trading slightly up this morning after yesterday’s MPC minutes showed that 2 members of the 9-member committee backed near-term interest rate rises. Both the DAX and CAC 40 are up this morning after the release of Markit Manufacturing and Services PMI figures – Germany’s numbers for both of these sectors beat expectations, with its Manufacturing PMI coming in at 52 instead of the 51.8 prediction and its Services PMI registering at 56.4 rather than the original estimate of 55.5. The DAX is currently up by 0.45% at 9,373.09. French PMI figures were mixed; the Manufacturing PMI number came in below expectations at 46.5 instead of 47.9, but Services PMI was at a 51.1 level rather than the expected 50.3. The CAC is currently trading up by 0.28% at 4,251.25. However, the Euro zone as a whole saw a fall in both Manufacturing and Services PMI numbers, down to 50.8 and 53.5 from 51.8 and 54.2.

Carillion has decided not to pursue attempts to merge with Balfour Beatty after its third merger offer was rejected. The construction firm was going to have to wait another six months before making any further bids if they failed to reach an agreement by 5pm today. Both firms saw their share prices rise, with Carillion up by around 1% at 333.20 and Balfour Beatty up by 0.67% at 240.50.

UK Retail Sales Figures released just a few minutes ago show a 0.1% month-on-month increase in Retail Sales, below the 0.4% expected. Later today we’ll see Initial Jobless Claims and Existing Home Sales Figures out of the US.