Please see below for the usual Monday Market Update from Blackfinch:
UK COMMENTARY
- The seasonally-adjusted IHS Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose again in August to a 30-month high of 55.2, albeit marginally below the earlier flash estimate.
- The Services PMI figure for August was also revised downwards from its earlier estimate and showed that the rate of job losses across the sector was at its highest since May.
- Manufacturing PMI fell to 54.6 in August, with the lack of new work to replace completed contracts seemingly causing the slowdown. The data, however, shows that the industry remains in expansion territory.
- The Bank of England reports that mortgage approvals for house purchases rose to 66,281 in July, up from 39,902 in June and 9,285 in May.
- Figures from Nationwide show that house prices in August rose at their fastest rate in 16 years.
- Four UK housebuilders are being investigated by the Competition and Markets Authority following ‘troubling evidence’ over the way in which leasehold properties were sold.
- Alex Brazier, the Bank of England executive director for Financial Stability Strategy and Risk, tells MPs that it isn’t possible for all office workers to return to their desks, commenting that public health issues, public transport capacity and the ability for offices to comply with COVID-safe guidelines are all significant factors that need to be considered. Brazier adds that ‘we should expect a more phased return, depending on the public health outcomes we see in the coming weeks and months’.
US COMMENTARY
- Talks restart between US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi over a fresh round of stimulus, with the former stating that a ‘bipartisan agreement still should be reached’.
- Non-farm payrolls show that the US added 1.4mln job in August, in line with expectations, with the unemployment rate falling to 8.4%.
- Weekly jobs data shows that there were 881,000 new jobless claims, against estimates of 940,000.
- Tech stocks fall as investors reconsider the valuations of those stocks that have rallied hard over the last few months.
ASIA COMMENTARY
- The private Caixin survey shows that Chinese manufacturing activity in August rose at its fastest pace in nearly 10 years.
COVID-19 COMMENTARY
- The New York Times reports that the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has notified public health officials in all 50 states to prepare to distribute a COVID-19 vaccine to health care workers and other high-risk groups as soon as late October or early November. The report suggests that the CDC has laid out the requirements for shipping, mixing, storage and administration of two vaccine candidates, currently only referred to as Vaccine A and Vaccine B.
Please continue to check back for more blog content.
Andrew Lloyd
07/09/2020