Mortgage data expected to hint at improvement – London Report
MORTGAGE approvals data from the Bank of England, out today, is expected to show an improvement in housing market activity during May.
The bank is expected to reveal that mortgage approvals for house purchases rose modestly further to be at a 15-month high of 68,500 during the month.
GDP growth is likely to be revised up to 0.4 per cent quarter-on-quarter in data due out tomorrow, up from 0.3 per cent.
Year-on-year GDP growth is expected to be 2.6 per cent, while GDP growth for the year looks likely to be revised up to at least 2.9 per cent from 2.8 per cent, although it could possibly have reached as high as three per cent.
Tomorrow also sees the release of the GfK/NOP consumer confidence index for June, which is expected to show that sentiment improved modestly during the month up to two, from one in May.
Confidence is expected to have been supported by strengthening earnings growth and optimism about the state of the economy and the outlook.
The current account deficit, out tomorrow, is expected to have come down in the first quarter of 2015 while still being worryingly high at £23.5bn. This would be down from £25.3bn in the fourth quarter of 2014 and a peak of £27.7bn in the third quarter.
And on Wednesday, the purchasing managers are expected to indicate that manufacturing activity improved modestly in June.
Specifically, the manufacturing purchasing managers’ index is expected to have climbed to 52.3 in June from 52.0 in May and 51.8 in April. According to IHS Global Insights, a level of 52.3 in June “would indicate clear, if somewhat limited, manufacturing expansion given that a reading of 50.0 indicates flat activity”.
Meanwhile, on the corporate calendar this week are results from Porvair today, and updates from Carpetright, Imagination Technologies, Northgate, Pinewood, Ocado and St Modwen tomorrow.
On Wednesday, Greene King, Topps Tiles and Tullow Oil will report, while Thursday will see figures released by Persimmon and Harvey Nash.
Marshalls and Ferrexpo will update the market on Friday.