Morning MoneyBeat Europe: European Bulls in View
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The new quarter seems to have already attracted its share of bulls in Europe, with the region's stock markets extending Wednesday's gains in early trade after the Dow closed sharply higher.
Stocks globally were also boosted Thursday by some modestly upbeat news on China's manufacturing sector.
China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index, released early Thursday, ticked up slightly to 49.8 in September, from 49.7 in August beating expectations. Still, a PMI reading below 50 points to a contraction, so we're not out of the water yet.
A competing private gauge of nationwide manufacturing activity, the Caixin China manufacturing PMI, was down slightly at 47.2 in September, a six-year low, compared with 47.3 in August.
Stocks in Australia and Japan gained on the news, while markets in Hong Kong and Shanghai were closed. Meanwhile, Japan's latest corporate surveyed showed big manufacturers were increasingly concerned over China's slowdown, raising the prospects for more stimulus from the Bank of Japan.
Investors will Thursday get a sense of how Europe's manufacturing industry performed in September. Focus also shifts to Friday's U.S. jobs report, a key factor in the Fed's timing for lift-off.
Watch for: Manufacturing PMIs for the eurozone and U.K.; U.S. weekly jobless claims, manufacturing PMI; auto industry sales; speech by Fed's John Williams.
Market Snapshot: FTSE 100 up 1.35%, CAC 40 up 1.41% and DAX up 1.14%. Nikkei closed Thursday up 1.92%. Brent crude up 1.24% at $48.97. Gold down 0.28% at $1112.10. EUR/USD at $1.1156. Ten-year Treasury yield higher at 2.062%, Bund yield higher at 0.591%, Gilt yield higher at 1.671%.
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From The Wall Street Journal
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