Wednesday preview: Potential US election surprise (s), euro area PMIs in focus

It's election time again in the United States and most observers and media are predicting that the vote counting in the presidential race could be a drawn out affair, possibly stretching out until the weekend, when not even further.

So too, most pundits were describing the race for the Oval Office as neck and neck and congress was expected to remain divided.

But as of the London pre-open, at least one surprise had already materialised, with the Republican party regaining control of the country's Senate.

Republicans were also leading in the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the US congress, by 190 seats to 161.

Donald Trump meanwhile had already managed to take 246 of the 270 electoral votes that he needed in order to clinch the presidency - although it was still arguably too soon to call the race for the White House.

Nevertheless, the odds of a so-called 'Republican Sweep', with Trump taking the White House and Republicans both chambers of congress, were looking pretty high.

And the electoral college vote count was proceeding apace.

A sweep - which was atypical in US politics - would in theory mean that Republicans would have the field wide open to undertake legislative changes.

Against that backdrop, the US dollar was surging, Bitcoin rocketing, US equity futures higher, European equity futures and Asian stocks mixed. Japan's Nikkei was up big, but China's Hang Seng index was lower.

Elsewhere on Wednesday's calendar, at 0900 BST S&P Global would release its euro area services sector Purchasing Managers' Indices.

They would be followed a half hour later by the UK construction PMI, also courtesy of S&P Global.

In the US, at 1800 BST the Treasury was scheduled to hold an auction of 30-year bonds.

Wednesday 6 November

FINALS

DotDigital Group

INTERIMS

Totally, Braemar

TBC Bank Group

TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS

OSB Group, Lancashire Holdings Limited, Conduit Holdings Limited Com Shs (DI)

AGMs

Ashmore Group, Galileo Resources

FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

Begbies Traynor Group

INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

HSS Hire Group

UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS

PMI Composite (10:00)

PMI Services (10:00)

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCMENTS

Factory Orders (GER) (07:00)

PMI Composite (GER) (08:55)

PMI Services (GER) (08:55)

PMI Composite (EU) (09:00)

PMI Services (EU) (09:00)

Producer Price Index (EU) (10:00)

MBA Mortgage Applications (US) (12:00)

Crude Oil Inventories (US) (15:30)