Asia
While Japanese stock markets were closed on Tuesday, China’s CSI 300 index made a positive start to 2018, rising nearly 1.5% to 4,097 points. China kicked off Tuesday’s global manufacturing surveys by beating forecasts. The Caixin PMI survey showed that factory activity had accelerated towards the end of 2017. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also made a strong start to the year, rising nearly 600 points to 30,515, a gain of nearly 2% on the last trading day of 2017.
Europe
PMI surveys for the UK are due on consecutive days this week: today sees manufacturing numbers, construction on Wednesday, then services sector data on Thursday. December’s manufacturing PMI was weaker than forecast at 56.3 – with 50 marking the difference between contraction and expansion – and weaker than November’s figures.
The eurozone’s equivalent surveys were a mixed bag: France and Italy PMIs came in below forecasts, while Germany hit a new record high. Even though France came in below forecasts, the country’s manufacturing sector was still around a 17-year high.
The data helped the euro make a sustained moved through $1.20, which in turn put pressure on eurozone stock exchanges: Germany’s Dax started the year more than 1% lower approaching midday, while Italy and France were also off more than 1%.
After ending 2017 at a record high, the FTSE 100 struggled to make progress at the start of 2018, losing 30 points to 7,655 as sterling held up against the dollar, although it fell after PMI data was released at 930am. Centrica (CNA) was the biggest riser on Tuesday morning after a 2017 to forget for the British Gas owner’s shareholders, in which the shares fell around a pound to 140p.
North America
US economic data is light on Tuesday as businesses get back to work in the New Year, but Canada’s manufacturing figures for December will be released. The figures are expected to show that the country’s manufacturing sector expanded healthily in the last month of 2017.
Looking ahead this week, US ISM manufacturing figures will be released on Wednesday, as will the minutes from the Federal Reserve meeting in December, in which interest rates were raised by a quarter of a point. The keenly anticipated monthly non-farm payroll numbers come out on Friday. They are likely to show a drop in jobs from the November, as expected for a holiday-foreshortened month. Canada’s employment figures will also be in focus on Friday.