The FTSE stubbornly held onto its meagre growth as its European peers slipped into the red, the markets still subdued following news that China had cut its GDP forecasts for 2019.
A 0.3% increase pushed the UK index back above 7150, allowing the FTSE to loiter at similar one week highs as those struck during Monday’s trading. A better than forecast UK services PMI – at 51.3 against the 50.0 expected – appeared to help, especially since it wasn’t actually good enough to give sterling a boost. Instead the pound remained flat against both the euro and the dollar as Markit claimed the UK was facing an awful 0.1% rise in Q1 GDP following the latest PMI surveys.
Despite its own surprise services PMI, the Eurozone indices looked weary as Tuesday went on. The DAX fell 0.3% to dip back under 11600, while the CAC was down 0.2% and at 5270.
Having fallen 200 points on Monday, the Dow Jones is set to recover just a smidgen of that after the bell. Spirits dampened by the same signs of slowdown in China that hurt the European open, the futures are pointing to a barely worth noting 0.1% rise when the bell rings on Wall Street, one that would keep the Dow the wrong side of 25850.
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