Global stocks mostly rose Thursday, buoyed by positive manufacturing data from China and Britain while investors await U.S. employment data later this week.
KEEPING SCORE: Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 0.2 percent at 6,793 and Germany’s DAX rose 0.5 percent to 10,642. France’s CAC 40 was up 1 percent at 4,481. U.S. futures augured gains on the open on Wall Street, with both the Dow and S&P futures up 0.2 percent.
MANUFACTURING: An official monthly survey of Chinese factory managers, a barometer for manufacturing activity, came in at a better-than-expected 50.4 in August, on a 1-100 scale where 50 marks the threshold between contraction and expansion. The results reflect improved expectations among Chinese factory managers and upticks in production and orders.
The equivalent index in Britain rebounded in August, to 53.3 from a 41-month low in July of 48.3. It was a 10-month high and suggested manufacturers were helped by the drop in the pound and regained their poise after the initial shock of the June vote for Britain to leave the European Union.
ANALYST’S TAKE: “While there will be a focus on tomorrow’s U.S. jobs report, being by far the standout risk event this week, there is plenty of data being released throughout the day which should ensure it’s a lively session,” Craig Erlam, a senior market analyst at OANDA said in a commentary.
JAPAN’S MALAISE: A Japanese Ministry of Finance survey showed spending on factories and equipment in the April-June quarter was weaker than expected. The strength of the Japanese yen is pinching exporters who reaped windfall gains when the yen sank to near 120 yen per dollar. “The upshot is that the second estimate of GDP, due next Thursday, should confirm that the economy stagnated last quarter,” Marcel Thieliant of Capital Economics said in an analysis.
ASIA’S DAY: Asian markets were mixed, reflecting the contrasting data from the region. Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 0.2 percent up at 16,926.84. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 0.8 percent to 23,162.34. China’s Shanghai Composite index fell 0.7 percent at 3,063.31. Australia’s S&P ASX 200 lost 0.3 percent to 5,415.60 and India’s Sensex climbed 0.3 percent to 28,533.60.
OIL: Benchmark U.S. crude lost 14 cents to $44.58 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Wednesday, it dropped $1.65. Brent crude, used to price international oils, fell 18 cents to $46.71.
CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 103.63 yen from 103.29 yen the previous day. The euro fell to $1.1150 from $1.1161.
