Please see below this week’s Monday Market Update from Blackfinch investments – received today 09/11/2020.
Blackfinch Group Monday Market Update – Issue 16 – 9th November 2020
UK COMMENTARY
• Boris Johnson placed England in a second national lockdown. Although the rules are not quite as strict as the first time round, the public is under specific guidance on movement until 2nd December at least.
• The UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for October was revised up to 53.7 from the flash estimate of 53.3. This was below September’s level, with the main drag attributed to a contraction in the consumer goods industry, blamed in part on regional lockdowns.
• The IHS Markit/CIPS UK Services PMI Business Activity Index was reported as 51.4 in October, down from 56.1 in September. However, a value above 50 still indicates an increase in activity.
• The Office for National Statistics reported that the UK’s headline measure of labour productivity fell by 1.8% year on year in the second quarter
• The Bank of England voted unanimously to implement a £150bn bond-buying exercise, ahead of market expectations for a repeat of the current £100bn. The gilt purchases will begin in January when the existing programme expires and will last throughout 2021.
US COMMENTARY
• All focus was on the presidential election. Donald Trump fared better than anticipated in the polls, but by close of business on Friday it appeared Joe Biden had the lead. Over the weekend he was confirmed as victor. Whether the current President will concede the election is another matter entirely.
• The Senate appears likely to remain Republican, creating a divided government in the US. This also continues the trend seen so regularly in the past ten years, including in the second half of President Trump’s term.
• Initial jobless claims fell to 751,000, however economists had predicted a figure of 735,000
• The total unemployment rate fell to 6.9% from 7.9%
ASIA COMMENTARY
• The Caixin/Markit PMI came in at 53.6 for October, marking the sixth straight month of manufacturing expansion in China
• Japan’s benchmark equity index, the Nikkei, reached a near thirty-year high at the close of business on Friday
A good update from Blackfinch Investments, providing a short summary of events from around the world over the past week.
Please continue to check back for our latest blog posts and updates.
Charlotte Ennis
09/11/2020