Asia
China markets bucked the recent trend of Tuesday by rising at the expense of other indices in the Asia-Pacific region. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 1% on Monday’s close to keep above 2,700 points. But Asia indices such as Japan’s Nikkei and India’s BSE, lacking the usual pointers from Wall Street, slipped on the day.
Australia’s central bank held interest rates at 1.5% and the All Ordinaries drifted lower at the close.
Europe
The pound dropped back against the US dollar again but the fall was not enough to inspire a gain in the FTSE 100, which fell in line with the Eurozone’s biggest markets.
WPP (WPP) was the biggest faller today, with shares down around 7% at some point. Interim results were positive in terms of profits and revenues – on a constant currency basis – apart from a slowdown in the US.
Bank of England Governor, Mark Carney, appears before MPs today along with colleagues – amid speculation about whether his tenure will continue beyond 2019.
In terms of economics, the construction Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for August came in below forecasts. The manufacturing PMI also disappointed yesterday, and service sector data is due on Wednesday. Figures from BRC/KPMG show that UK retail sales grew anaemically in August, in comparison with the previous month and the same month in August.
North America
Trading resumes in the United States and Canada today after a day’s absence. Stock market futures indicate that US markets are set top open higher on Tuesday.
ISM Manufacturing figures are due today after the stock market opens.
On Wednesday’s Canada’s central bank is expected to hold interest rates at 1.5% and on Friday non-farm payroll numbers are due. The US economy is expected to have added 193,000 jobs in August, higher than the 157,000 seen in July
Workday (WDAY) is one of the biggest companies by market capitalisation to report today.
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