The FTSE rebounded in early trading this morning, up 40 points to effectively claw back most of yesterday’s losses.
Spreadex Analyst, Connor Campbell noted “A healthy start from the commodity sector – itself aided by a $49 per barrel-eyeing rise from Brent Crude and copper’s continued climb – alongside a fairly muted open from the pound allowed the FTSE to surge back across 7400 with a 50 point increase.”
“Over in the Eurozone the indices were broadly perky.”
“The CAC continued to outperform its German cousin, rising 0.7% to the DAX’s 0.2% increase. Still to come is the German Ifo business climate reading, expected to slip from 115.1 to 114.9 – if the euro is the one to absorb the impact of that drop then the DAX could puff up its gains.”
In the currency markets, the spotlight remains firmly on the euro today. ADS Securities Analyst, Konstantinos Anthis suggested “Today the focus will be on the release of the IFO Survey from Germany and the business sentiment report might hold a few surprises this month.”
“With the euro surging to relatively expensive territory potentially hurting exports, manufacturing activity slowing down and the German federal elections coming up in September, business sentiment might dip lower. If the report hints on elevated concerns about the medium-term prospects of the Euro area then the euro might retreat further. ”
The US equity markets closed mixed yesterday as earnings season continued. Accendo Markets Analyst, Mike van Dulken commented “The tech-focused Nasdaq closed at a fresh record high with investors eying results from giants Facebook and Amazon this week.”
“However, the S&P500 and Dow Jones both closed lower as Utilities weighed on the former, while Johnson & Johnson and Goldman Sachs lead the latter to underperform.”
Google parent Alphabet’s shares fell 3% in after-market trading following the EU’s record fine of $2.7bn which has weighed heavily on its Q2 earnings report. Investors will note that US companies reporting later today include Dow components 3M, Caterpillar, DuPont, McDonald’s and United Technologies.
