Morning Briefing: Markets start the month higher, Chinese PMI weighs

Markets start the month higher, Chinese PMI weighs... Fed official calls for caution on interest rates...

Steve Randall
Markets start the month higher, Chinese PMI weighs
The new month has started with largely positive moves in the equity markets although China has reported some further weak data.

Most Asian markets closed with gains, led by Hong Kong which was up more than 1 per cent. Shanghai was the only major index to close lower as investors weighed China’s latest PMI data which showed a slight contraction of the manufacturing sector with a reading of 49.9 (50.0 was expected). While official figures disappointed, a private survey of small and medium businesses was more positive.

European markets were boosted by the latest stress test reports on the region’s banks. Most were shown to be able to withstand a financial crisis, although a handful were of concern. The worst of these was the world’s oldest bank, Italy’s Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, which has announced that it is splitting off its bad loans into a separate entity and will raise $5.6 billion in new capital. 

Wall Street is expected to open higher. The TSX is closed for the civic holiday.
 
  Latest 1 month ago 1 year ago
 
North America (previous session)
US Dow Jones 18,432.24 (-0.13 per cent) +2.69 per cent +4.20 per cent
TSX Composite 14,582.74 (+0.21 per cent) +3.68 per cent +0.79 per cent
 
Europe (at 4.30am ET)
UK FTSE 6,732.17 (+0.12 per cent) +2.35 per cent +0.54 per cent
German DAX 16,635.77 (+0.66 per cent) +6.44 per cent -7.99 per cent
 
Asia (at close)
China CSI 300 3,176.81 (-0.85 per cent) +0.72 per cent -16.77 per cent
Japan Nikkei 16,635.77 (+0.40 per cent) +6.08 per cent -19.19 per cent
 
Other Data (at 4.30am ET)
Oil (Brent) Oil (WTI) Gold Can. Dollar
43.30
(-0.53 per cent)
41.33
(-0.65 per cent)
1354.90
(-0.18 per cent)
U$0.7666
 
Aus. Dollar
U$0.7592

 
 Fed official calls for caution on interest rates
September? December? Sometime in 2017? No one really knows when the Fed may opt to increase interest rates but the tones from most Fed officials is decidedly dovish.

New York Fed president William Dudley said Monday that with some concerns remaining over the US economy including external factors, the central bank should be cautious about a rate rise too soon.

Speaking in Bali, Dudley said that the economy should exceed expectations by the end of the year, but his comments have been interpreted as largely ruling out a September interest rate rise and making December the next real possibility.
 

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