Global Market Report - August 22 2017

Global markets struggled to make significant gains but a flurry of corporate news in London kept investors interested

James Gard 22 August, 2017 | 11:34AM
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Asia

Markets in Asia Pacific lacked strong direction on Tuesday morning without any impetus from global events or US stock markets, which managed to break a recent losing streak on Monday. China's CSI 300 closed up less than 0.5% higher at 3752.30, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong rose less than 1% at 27,401 points. Japan’s key indices, the Nikkei 225 and the Topix, were largely unchanged amid a dearth of economic pointers.

In Chinese business news, the country’s largest commercial property firm Dalian Wanda (DWNDF) has reportedly pulled out of a deal to build 20,000 luxury homes in south London amid a crackdown on overseas investments by the country’s rulers.  

Europe

Europe’s continental bourses were in positive territory in mid-morning trading, with Germany’s Dax, France’s Cac and the EuroStoxx 50 all slightly higher on the day. The stock markets shrugged off a drop in the eurozone confidence barometer, the ZEW survey, from 35.6 in July to 29.3 in August. Germany’s version of the ZEW missed forecasts in the same period, coming in at 10, against 17.5 in the previous month. Some more positive economic news for the UK government came in the form of a July surplus in public sector borrowing, the first since 2002.

It was an active morning for UK corporate announcements – and with positive sentiment towards the commodity sector following strong results from copper-miner Antofagasta ANTO) and BHP Billiton (BLT) overnight, the FTSE 100 was up 0.6% at 7366.7 points.

Britain’s largest housebuilder Persimmon (PSN), a widely held high dividend stock, affirmed the resilience of the UK housing market in the face of a range of economic threats.  The company’s pre-tax profits rose 30% to £457.4 million in the first half of the year, with home sales, sale prices and completions all higher in the period.

Shares in doorstep lender Provident Financial Group (PFG) crashed over 60% after another profit warning

North America

In terms of economic data, the consumer is very much in focus on Tuesday. Canadian retail sales for June are due, with a forecast increase of 0.2% month on month. US house prices for the same month will also be released. US companies reporting include Medtronic (MDT), which develops medical equipment technology, San Francisco-based cloud computing firm Salesforce (CRM), small business tax and accountancy software firm Intuit (INTU).

The information contained within is for educational and informational purposes ONLY. It is not intended nor should it be considered an invitation or inducement to buy or sell a security or securities noted within nor should it be viewed as a communication intended to persuade or incite you to buy or sell security or securities noted within. Any commentary provided is the opinion of the author and should not be considered a personalised recommendation. The information contained within should not be a person's sole basis for making an investment decision. Please contact your financial professional before making an investment decision.

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Securities Mentioned in Article

Security NamePriceChange (%)Morningstar
Rating
Antofagasta PLC1,689.50 GBX0.87
Persimmon PLC1,241.50 GBX0.20Rating
Principal Financial Group Inc84.70 USD0.65

About Author

James Gard

James Gard  is senior editor for Morningstar.co.uk

 

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