Today is the calm before the storm on the data front, as economists brace for several high-impact data releases over the course of Friday. The main event for US markets today will be GDP at 1:30pm UK time.
US economic releases will dominate markets this afternoon, with a variety of labour and housing-based data. Initial jobless claims will be released at the same time as GDP and markets will also see the latest pending home sales for the US shortly after.
Both sterling and the euro rallied against the US dollar yesterday gaining just over half a percent and half a percent, respectively. For the single currency, some analysts said dollar buyers saw the best EUR/USD exchange rate in over a year.
It was a different story for European stock markets though, which faced a tough day on Wednesday. The French CAC 40 underperformed, making losses for a third day, while Italian stocks also edged lower for a third consecutive session. The TSE MIB index closed 0.5% lower yesterday.
For equities in London, the benchmark FTSE 100 remained under pressure on Wednesday, as healthcare and industrial sectors offset technology gains.
Tomorrow, all eyes will be on the fourth largest economy in the world, Germany, for its latest GDP figures. We’ll also see the country’s latest unemployment rate and import prices – euro watchers will be keeping their eyes peeled for any knee-jerk reactions from the single currency.
Next week will be a quiet start for UK markets due to the Early May Bank Holiday however, the US will continue to churn out key manufacturing data on Monday.
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