By Connor Campbell, Financial Analyst, Spreadex
An 11 month low UK construction PMI failed to make much of a difference to the markets this Wednesday morning.
That construction figure vastly underperformed expectations, at just 51.9 against the 54.3 forecast (and the 54.8 seen last month). Yet the pound took the number in its stride, maintaining a 0.2% rise against the dollar – crucially keeping it above $1.32 – while dipping 0.1% against the euro. The FTSE, meanwhile, remained weighed down by its commodity stocks despite Brent Crude largely shrinking its losses, a 2.5% fall from Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) helping lead the UK index 20 points lower.
Over in the eurozone the DAX and CAC remained muted in the face of the euro’s strength. The German index dipped a steady 0.1%, while its French counterpart managed to reduce its morning losses to a handful of points.
Looking to this afternoon and the Dow Jones is once again aiming for a 22000-plus open. The index should receive a helping hand from Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), which surged to its own record high after hours with a 6% increase as Tim Cook hinted that the iPhone 8 won’t be delayed as feared (of course an 11.9% surge in Q3 profit didn’t hurt either). Elsewhere the ADP non-farm employment change figure – forecast to rise from 158k to 187k month-on-month – will ostensibly give investors an idea of what to expect from Friday’s jobs report.
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