It’s a new week and a new month in the financial markets, and the turn of another page in the 2021 calendar brings along a few important economic updates.
First off, Australia delivered a manufacturing PMI for October that was higher than last month’s at 58.2. However, home loans for September were a disappointment at -2.7%.
China’s Caixin PMI rose to 50.6, pleasing investors. However, concerns over the country’s troubled development sector remain, with another company - Yango Group, joining the fray.
Germany also disappointed investors with very weak retail sales data for September at negative 0.9%, where a positive reading of 1.8% was expected.
Elsewhere in Europe, Switzerland and the United Kingdom both delivered manufacturing PMIs for October today. The former was slightly disappointing, while the latter exceeded investors’ expectations.
In the United States, the Markit manufacturing PMI for October was below the forecast, while the ISM index of the same was better than expected, causing a bit of confusion.
Meanwhile, Japan has a new official government under the leadership of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Kishida is set to continue with more stimulus to support the struggling Japanese economy.
As for the stock markets, we expect US indices to trade higher today, thanks to improving economic sentiment and the hope of monetary policy tightening in the United States. However, with the Fed meeting so close, growth will be limited as investors take a more cautious approach.
