The markets got off to a negative start on what is going to be a crazy busy week, with investors caught between last Friday’s US tech-sell-off and the Fed and Bank of England meetings on Wednesday and Thursday respectively.
The FTSE – which is not only facing the much-awaited BoE decision, but the latest PMIs and updates from nearly a fifth of its constituents – fell 0.4% after the bell. That dragged the index back under 7700, a level it has struggled to substantially break beyond for most of July. Once again its commodity stocks proved to be an issue, especially its miners, led lower by a 1% drop from copper.
While the FTSE struggled, the pound – for which Thursday’s BoE interest rate decision could be a make or break event – was fairly serene. Against both the dollar and the euro, sterling rose around 0.1%, hitting $1.312 against the former and €1.125 against the latter.
As for the Eurozone indices, there were in a similar mood to their UK counterpart. The DAX dipped 35 points, taking it back under 12850, with the CAC slipping 20 points to slip below 5500. In comparison to the UK and US the region doesn’t have a huge amount going on this week, meaning its trading could be driven by the euro’s relationship to the dollar and pound.
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