Despite South Korea raising alarm bells about the impact of a US-China trade war on the country’s tech-heavy exports, the European markets avoided extending Wednesday’s chunky losses as Thursday got underway.
The FTSE actually managed to push a bit higher after the bell, climbing back above 7600 with a 0.2% climb. The pound was less adventurous, nudging up 0.1% against the dollar, lifting off of Wednesday’s $1.32 lows, while sitting unchanged against the euro. If there isn’t a major trade war twist, the main focus in the UK is likely going to be the release of the Brexit white paper, investors keen to assess the state of play post-Chequers, post-Davis.
In the eurozone there wasn’t much movement, with the DAX up 15 points but still below 12450 and the CAC slipping 0.1%. The ECB meeting minutes this afternoon are the biggest thing the region has to offer on Thursday, especially following a Reuters report stating that the bank is split on the timing of a rate hike next year.
AIM superstar ASOS (LON:ASOS) fell short of its own lofty expectations on Thursday, plunging 7% after stating that its full year sales would be ‘towards the lower end’ of its previous 25% to 30% guidance. Of course, most companies would kill for that kind of growth; however, ASOS investors are a tough lot to please, so accustomed to the firm’s double-digit gains that news of a 22% rise in UK sales and a better than forecast gross margin barely registers.
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