The FTSE was up 36 point in early trading this Wednesday morning following a positive session in the US yesterday that was fuelled by Technology stocks.
This morning, it’s commodities stocks that are boosting the UK stock market on the back of a 1.1% rise for Brent Crude and a 1.3% jump from copper with Paddy Power Betfair also impressing following it’s Q3 release.
However, it’s Next that is the day’s biggest mover, losing a whopping 7% in early trading on the back of some very disappointing Q3 results which have forced the retailer to reduce its growth forecast for the full year. Marks and Spencer dropped almost 4% as investors fearing further troubles moved away from the retail sector.
Switching to the Pound, the UK’s Manufacturing PMI release this morning will be the last chance for the Bank of England policymakers to analyse data ahead of their interest rate decision tomorrow.
Spreadex analyst, Connor Campbell suggested “After smashing forecasts in July and August, September saw the PMI post fairly sizeable miss; it’s expected to have continued to cool in October, with analysts forecasting a slight dip from 55.9 to 55.8 month-on-month ”
The pound rose 0.2% against both the dollar and the euro; against the former that leaves sterling above $1.33 for the first time since mid-October
The markets are focusing on today’s US Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting for indications on future monetary tightening. FxPro analyst, Edward Anderson commented “The Fed has raised rates twice since January and currently forecasts one more hike by the end of the year as part of a tightening cycle that began in late 2015.The Fed is expected to leave interest rates unchanged but the markets will be looking for any new indications that the Fed will, as expected, hike rates in December.”
ADS Securities analyst, Konstantinos Anthis added “Should the Fed’s statement point towards further tightening this year and more hikes in 2018 the dollar should extend its gains albeit at a moderate pace as traders will want to wait until Friday’s NFP report to avoid any unpleasant surprises.”
US equity markets finished October on a positive note, with the three major indices all closing higher ahead of today’s Federal Reserve meeting. Accendo Markets analyst, Mike van Dulken noted “The Nasdaq once again outperformed, basking in the glow of strong results for an array of Tech names ahead of Facebook results after-market today, while Apple strength helped the Dow Jones to finish 0.1% higher.”
“The S&P 500 closed just above break even as Kellogg and Mondelez both rallied over 6% post-results, offsetting Under Armour shares down 24%.”