Before the open – 12/08
The Nikkei fell to a six-week low closing down 0.7 per cent while the yen strengthened on the back of weaker than expected second quarter GDP data this morning.
However, the Shanghai Composite and the Hang Seng both jumped over 1.5 per cent as factory output topped forecasts after last Friday's close. Output grew by 9.7 per cent – the fastest pace since the start of the year.
Beijing is also developing a new trading platform to help banks sell off loans to non-bank financial institutions and large companies, which could set a precedent for future government bail outs or distressed asset sales.
The FTSE is expected to open slightly up.
ETX Capital #morningcall: FTSE100 up 19 points, the DAC higher by 9 points and the CAC40 up by 6 points.
— ETX Capital (@ETXCapital) August 12, 2013
Reflective start to the week expected in Europe this morning – FTSE +17, DAX +8, CAC +7 – PRUDENTIAL posts numbers this morning
— David Buik (@truemagic68) August 12, 2013
Morning ftse +20, Dow +11, Dax +28, SP 1689, Nikkei -100, h/s +470, Crude +15c, Gold 1330, Cable 1.5495
— Wayno (@waynog) August 12, 2013
It's going to be a very light day for data.
Key events:
Greek GDP for the second quarter at 10:00. Expected to shrink at an annual rate of five per cent, compared with 5.6 per cent in the first quarter.
US monthly budget statement for July at 19:00. Expected to fall from $116.5bn to a deficit of $90bn.