Friday preview: Global PMIs, UK retail sales in focus

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Investors' focus at the end of the week will be on a raft of purchasing managers' surveys for manufacturing and services activity in April due out in the euro area, UK and the US.

In particular, attention would be on what impact the recent tensions in the banking sector might have had.

The euro area Purchasing Managers' indices were scheduled to be published at 0900 BST and were expected to show a slight improvement in factory activity, but alongside a slight slowdown in services.

A similar outcome was expected to be evident in the UK PMIs at 0930 GMT, while it was anticipated that the US PMIs, at 1445 BST, would both reveal a small deterioration.

Against that backdrop, overnight consultancy GfK would release it consumer confidence index for the UK covering the month of April.

It would be followed at 0700 BST by a reading for retail sales in March from the Office for National Statistics.

Friday 21 April

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