A man walks past a screen displaying the Hang Seng Index in Central District in Hong Kong, China March 21, 2023. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo
A look ahead for the day ahead in Ankur Banerjee’s European and global markets:
Investors have remained risk averse as the market looks to wrap up a volatile week that followed the Bank of Japan’s policy change and ended with worries over the direction of US yields.
Futures suggest European stocks are set for a higher opening price, but whether they can hold onto gains remains to be seen. The pan-European STOXX 600 index is at a more than three-week low and is on course to end its winning streak and could use some cheering on Friday.
Ahead of the US nonfarm payrolls headline report later in the day, investors’ attention will be focused on construction PMI data from the euro-zone, UK and Germany. Sterling will also be in focus after faltering on Thursday following the Bank of England’s moderate rate hike. The pound rose 0.2% in Asian trading.
Meanwhile, China’s central bank said monetary policy tools, including reserve requirement ratio cuts and open market operations, could be used to ensure liquidity in the banking system, a day after its governor vowed to channel more financial resources to the private sector.
Investors are hoping for economic stimulus and policy easing from Beijing to boost the weak recovery in the world’s second largest economy.
In the corporate world, the big tech companies’ earnings have been a mixed bag. Apple on Thursday forecast that the sales slump would continue in the current quarter, even as the company beat Wall Street’s sales and earnings targets in the fiscal third quarter.
Amazon.com Inc, on the other hand, reported sales growth and earnings that beat Wall Street expectations as the company delivered goods faster and cheaper as recent headwinds in cloud computing eased.
Key developments that could impact markets on Friday:
Economic Events: UK Construction PMI in July, Italy Industrial Production in June, Germany July Construction PMI, Eurozone Retail Sales
Reporting by Ankur Banerjee; Edited by Sam Holmes
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