The FTSE has opened flat this morning. Spreadex Analyst, Connor Campbell suggested “A retreat from the commodity stocks – informed by both Brent Crude’s 0.7% slide and a 2% fall from Rio Tinto despite the miner announcing a £1.9 billion share buyback – helped keep the FTSE under the cosh.”
“It did receive some support from BAE Systems, however, the arms dealer climbing 3% after besting first half earnings forecasts.”
Investors will be focusing on the pound this morning with the release of the UK PMI reports and the Bank of England Rate Decision tomorrow. ADS Securities Analyst, Konstantinos Anthis commented “We don’t expect any changes in policy from the BoE at this point but volatility could skyrocket if the voting ratio of the Monetary Policy Committee changes.”
“Yesterday, the positive Manufacturing PMI report was one of the reasons why sterling held above 1.3200 against the dollar and today a positive reading from the Construction sector should keep bids coming in for the pound.”
Over in the US, equity markets closed higher across the board on the first trading session of August as the Technology sector rebounded following recent volatility. Accendo Markets Analyst, Mike van Dulken suggested “This fresh bullishness helped the Tech-focused Nasdaq and S&P500 to both close 0.2% higher having underperformed on Monday, with Financials aiding the latter.”
“The Dow Jones closed within 40 points of the 22,000 mark as 3M and Banking names helped the index to a fresh record closing high.”
“Apple reported a sharp increase in both sales and income as it appeared to benefit from greater demand for core iPhone and iPad products. As a result, shares rallied 6% in after-market trading and are expected to open at a fresh record high. US companies reporting today include electric car-maker Tesla, snack powerhouse Mondelez and multimedia giant Time Warner.”
