Equity markets in Europe are a mixed bag this morning, and the one common theme is low volatility. Even the IBEX 35 has hardly moved, which gives you an idea of how quiet thing are today. The FTSE 100 has been drifting lower over the past few sessions, and we may see it retest the 7500 mark.
Whitbread (LON:WTB) posted a 7% increase in revenue and profits for the first-half of the year. The company well-known brands like Premier Inn and Costa Coffee, and both organisations are continuing to expand. The group stated that the interim dividend would be 31.4p, and that it expects to achieve its full-year growth forecast. Despite the respectable six month update, the stop gaped lower on the open. The share was previously receiving support from its 200-day moving average at 3934p, and now it has fallen below that metric, and if its fail to retake that level, it could target the September low of 3593p.
EUR/USD has edged up this morning as the manufacturing and services PMI reports from France and Germany were strong. The two largest economies in the eurozone saw solid growth in services and manufacturing in October. The European Central Bank (ECB) meeting on Thursday is probably the biggest event of the week, and traders are speculating we could hear about the bond buying scheme being trimmed, and with the solid performance of the French and German economies you can see why.
GBP/USD is a touch lower today and volatility could remain low as we are not anticipating any major economic announcements from the UK today. The British growth figures tomorrow will be the focus of sterling traders.
We are expecting the Dow Jones to open 27 points higher at 23,300, and we are calling the S&P 500 flat at 2565.
At 2.45pm (UK time), the US will reports the services and manufacturing PMI reports, and the consensus is for 55.2 and 53.3 respectively.
3M (NYSE:MMM), AT&T (NYSE:T) Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT), General Motors (NYSE:GM) and McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) will announce third third-quarter results today.
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