Market overview: Commodities hit by weak data
Updated : 17:31
1630:Close Stocks ended the day lower weighed down by a barrage of weaker than expected data out of China, the Eurozone and Stateside – with the former in particular missing analysts’ forecasts by a wide margin. Miners were easily the worst performing sector as three-month copper futures ended the session 1.0% lower to $5,240 per metric tonne on the LME, while front month Brent crude futures ended the day down by 1.4% to $54.50 per barrel on the ICE. FTSE 100 down by 75.20 points to 6,579.81.
1500: US new home sales slipped to an annualised pace of 482,000 in June (consensus: 540,000).
1445: Activity at US factories picked up slightly in July according to one widely followed barometer of activity, but analysts said the latest readings masked worrying undercurrents. Markit’s purchasing managers’ index for the country’s manufacturing sector in July rose to a reading of 53.8 points (consensus: 53.8), marking a slight rise from the 20-month low of 53.6 hit in June.
1313: Bloomberg reports Bank of America now sees the MPC hiking Bank Rate three times in 2016 and not twice.
1312: Flows into European assets jumped in the past week according to Bank of America to their highest since the so-called 'Bundshock', who cites EPFR data. Inflows to equities hit a historical record of $6bn.
1311: Shares of Amazon.com are rocketing 22% following the company's latest results out overnight. Piper Jaffray has upped its target price on the stock to $650 from $520 per share.
0930: Analysts at Macquarie have lowered their gold price forecasts for 2015 and 2016 to $1,152 and $1,163 per ounce, respectively, from $1,249 and $1,363 beforehand.
0915: Shares have begun the morning higher led by gains in Vodafone following the telecommunications carrier’s latest first quarter service revenue figures. Pearson is also seeing some follow-through buying from the previous day. Out on the second-tier index Playtech has gotten a boost from an upgrade out of UBS while Socgen has upped its view on Cairn Energy’s stock to hold from sell. Front month Brent crude futures have slipped below the $55 per barrel mark for the first time since March. FTSE 100 up 23.86 points to 6,678,72.