The Manufacturing PMI came in at 54.3 against the 55.0 seen last month, while the Services PMI fell even further, from 55.6 to 53.9; that’s a notable shift in sentiment, especially notable since it covers a purely Trump-led period. The US markets didn’t let it affect them however, with the Dow Jones crossing the 20700 mark for the first time in its history soon after the bell. The dollar did see the edge taken off its early gains, but that still meant the greenback was up 0.3% against the pound, 0.4% against the yen and 07% against the euro.
As for the FTSE, the UK index still found itself stuck below 7300 for the umpteenth day, dragged lower by a HSBC-led slide in the banking sector, with Britain’s biggest bank maintaining a 6% drop. In that regard, however, things should pick up tomorrow, with Lloyds set to report a leap in profit from £1.6 billion to £4.4 billion year-on-year.
Wednesday also brings with it the second glimpse at the fourth quarter GDP reading. While analysts are expecting it to remain unchanged at 0.6%, there is a chance that, thanks to some decent data readings in the last couple of months, it could be revised to 0.7%. If so that may well end up benefiting the pound more than the FTSE, as has been the reactionary trend of late.
