Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange after the morning bell yesterday.
LONDON: The British stock market rose in low-volume deals yesterday, amid a public holiday in much of Asia and Europe, and following disappointing US data.
London’s FTSE 100 index of top companies won 0.33 percent to 6,451.29 points, as dealers also absorbed better-than-expected British manufacturing data.
Investors digested US jobs and manufacturing data. Payrolls firm ADP reported that the American private sector added only 119,000 jobs in April, the slowest job growth in seven months. Elsewhere, US manufacturing activity slowed sharply in April to the slowest pace of the year, the ISM report released yesterday showed.
“With European equities closed for the May day bank holiday, UK traders initially sent stocks (higher) as strong corporate earnings, optimism over a European rate cut and better than expected (British) PMI manufacturing numbers contributed to strong risk appetite early on,” said CMC Markets trader Tobias Morris. “The bullish mood dissipated in afternoon trade however, as weaker than expected macro data from the States capped gains in the short term.”
In foreign exchange activity, the euro rallied to a nine-week high at $1.3243 on growing hopes of a rate cut from the European Central Bank today. The single currency later stood at $1.3186, up from $1.3165 late in New York on Tuesday. On the London Bullion Market, gold fell to $1,454.75 an ounce from $1,469 Tuesday. Wall Street fell in midday trade. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.42 percent to 14,777.30 points. The broad-based S& P 500 lost 0.43 percent to 1,590.89 points.
In Asian trade, Tokyo stocks fell 0.44 percent as the yen’s strength and gloomy eurozone economic data offset positive sentiment after the S& P 500 closed at another record high. Markets in China, Hong Kong, South Korea, India, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan and Singapore were all closed for the May Day holiday. AFP
