The rollercoaster drama of last week gave way to a fairly benign start to trading this Monday morning.
Contributing to the quiet open was the overnight figures out of China, numbers that are indicative of a slowing recovery in the country.
Fixed asset investment fell from 25.6% to 19.9% month-on-month, while industrial production dropped from 14.1% to 9.8%. Most upsetting for Western investors, retail sales almost halved, from 34.2% to 17.7%, far worse than the 25.0% forecast.
This news helped nudge the FTSE into the red, but not by enough to imperil its status above 7,000 – for now. Instead, the UK index dipped by 0.3%, leaving it at 7,030.
Sterling, meanwhile, eked out a 0.1% increase against both the dollar and the euro, sitting at $1.4107 and €1.162 respectively.
Things were just as flat in the Eurozone, where the CAC started the week unchanged, and the DAX at most moved 0.1% higher.
The Dow Jones looks unlikely to bring about any change – at least, any positive change – when trading gets underway in the US. After hefting itself back above 34,380 by the end of last week – remember, it had fallen as low as 33,288, from all-time highs of 35,000-plus – the Dow is set to drop by 100 points, as it struggles to maintain Friday’s closing rebound.
"Disclaimer: Spreadex provides an execution only service and the comments above do not constitute (or should not be construed as constituting) investment advice or recommendations, or a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. Any person placing trades based on their interpretations of the above comments does so entirely at their own risk. Spreadex Ltd is a financial and sports spread betting and sports fixed odds betting firm, which specialises in the personal service and credit area. Founded in 1999, Spreadex is recognised as one of the longest established spread betting firms in the industry with a strong reputation for its high level of customer service and account management.
In relation to spread betting, Spreadex Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Spread betting carries a high level of risk to your capital and can result in losses larger than your initial stake/deposit. It may not be suitable for everyone, so please ensure you fully understand the risks involved."