Despite another rough Asian session, with the Shanghai Composite at a 28 month nadir and the yuan near a one year low against the dollar as Donald Trump showed little regret for his market-worrying approach to trade, the European indices still strained to keep in the green after the bell.
Almost as familiar as the now routine Monday wobble, Tuesday brought the next step in the market’s current trade war cycle: the half-hearted rebound. The FTSE was the worst performer, effectively flat around the 7550 mark, as its miners continued to drag. The eurozone indices fared far better, with the DAX and CAC managing to jump 0.5% and 0.3% respectively.
There were similar gains for the pound and the euro, both attempting to claw back the acres of ground they’ve lost against the dollar in the last few months. Sterling jumped 0.2%, with cable now lurking around $1.315 having touched $1.31 on Monday; the single currency, meanwhile, was up 0.3% against the greenback, desperately trying to touch $1.165.
In terms of what investors have to distract them from the ongoing, ever-brewing, unbelievably tense trade war chatter, well, there’s not a lot. The one real figure of note is the UK construction PMI, which is expected to rise from 52.5 to 52.6 and may help extend the pound’s milquetoast gains against the dollar.
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