Market update: Positive sentiment prevails after the Easter holidays

While markets were closed for the Good Friday holiday in the UK, US shares surged higher on Friday as investors put aside Cyprus concerns and focused on an improving economic outlook for the country. The S&P 500 index closed at an all-time high of 1569.19, only to retrace some of the action in Monday’s trading, as factory activity data revealed that manufacturing grew at its slowest pace in three months. The Dow Jones closed flat while the S&P 500 shed 0.5%.

Asian shares were mixed in overnight trading. The poor factory activity number from the US and a stronger yen weighed on Japanese exporters sending the Nikkei 225 down 1.1%. Australian shares closed slightly up after the Easter break (0.4%), but South Korea’s Kospi Composite index fell back 0.5%, hurt by geopolitical tensions. European shares have been fairly positive early this morning with major indices climbing. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 0.5% and the FTSE 100 had risen 0.6% at the time of writing. In commodities copper was down 0.9% in London to $7,469 per tonne, after touching a seven-month low earlier.