Equity markets are higher today as traders are paying a little less attention to the geopolitical issues and are willing to take on more risk. The uncertainty in relation to North Korea, Catalonia and the Kurdish region of Iraq is still simmering away, but for now dealers are tuning the noise out.
Industrial profits in China increased by their highest amount in four years as the government funded projects are keeping the economy moving. Mining companies like Anglo American (LON:AAL), Antofagasta (LON:ANTO), Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) and Glencore (LON:GLEN) are some of the biggest risers on the FTSE 100 on the back of it.
Carillion shares are up 17.4% today after it was reported that a firm from the Middle East is interested in acquiring it. The upward move in the share price today, pales in comparison to the plunge the share price took in July when it issued a profit warning and the departure of its CEO. The troubled construction company may welcome the takeover approach as it is struggling with high debts, but some shareholders might feel they are being targeted near the all-time low.
The GBP/USD and EUR/USD are both weaker today after an update from the Federal Reserve Chair, Janet Yellen yesterday. Ms Yellen warned that tightening monetary policy to slowly could cause problems for the US economy. The greenback in in demand on account of the speech yesterday.
We are expecting the Dow Jones to open 29 points higher at 22,313, and we are calling the S&P 500 up 4 points at 2500.
At 1.30pm, the US will announce the durable goods figures for August, and the consensus is for a rise of 1%, and that compares with a 6.8% drop in July.
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