On 3 August, 2015 – Most European markets rose on strong manufacturing data

Stocks were mixed with Asia Pacific and US stocks retreating on the day while shares in Europe advanced. While European investors were reassured by manufacturing PMI data, those in the Asia Pacific were not.
United States
US stocks ended lower on Monday as tumbling oil prices dragged energy shares to a three-year low and factory data from China added to concerns about weakening growth in the country. Commodity producers and Apple were lower. Investors were also watching the latest earnings releases. The Dow Jones industrials were down 0.5% and both the S&P and Nasdaq lost 0.3%.
Tyson Foods slumped after cutting its outlook for fiscal 2015 earnings. The meat producer, which owns the Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage brand, blamed conditions in the beef market for its woes, citing high cattle costs and “export issues” as factors hurting its profits. Frontier Communications jumped after raising its cash flow and capital spending outlooks. Consol Energy sank as did Noble Energy and Chesapeake Energy. Freeport-McMoRan, Newmont Mining and Alcoa all declined for a third day amid the slide in commodities prices. Newmont was at its lowest since April 2001.
Coach and Michael Kors retreated after analysts warned that slumping sales will probably continue. Hanesbrands dropped for a second day following disappointing results. Sears Holdings tumbled to the lowest since January 2012. The retailer run by hedge fund manager Edward Lampert posted a 10.6% drop in same-store sales last quarter, its second consecutive period of double-digit declines. Clorox climbed to an all-time high after quarterly profit and revenue were above analysts’ estimates. Kraft Heinz also advanced. Airlines including Delta Air Lines, American Airlines Group and United Continental Holdings rallied on lower crude prices.
July ISM manufacturing index slipped to 52.7 from 53.5 in June. June personal income and spending were up 0.4% and 0.2% respectively.
Gold at the afternoon London fixing was down US$6.50 to US$1,091.90. Copper futures were down 0.8% to US$2.34. WTI spot crude was down US$1.77 to US$45.35. Dated Brent spot crude was up US$2.65 to US$49.56. The US dollar was up against all of its major counterparts including the euro, yen, pound, Swiss franc and the Canadian and Australian dollars. The Dollar Index was up 0.3%. The yield on US Treasury 30 year bond was down 6 basis points to 2.85% while the yield on the 10 year note lost 3 basis points to 2.15%. 
Europe
Most indices advanced Monday with European manufacturing data helping investors to get past the disappointing performance of the Asian markets. The FTSE slipped 0.1% but the CAC added 0.7%, the DAX gained 1.2% and the SMI was 0.4% higher. The Greek stock market reopened after being shuttered for the past 5 weeks. The market sold-off sharply and finished the session with a loss of over 16%.
Weak energy prices and downbeat Chinese manufacturing data weighed on investor sentiment. Also, manufacturing PMI surveys across much of Asia painted a bleak picture, spurring concerns over global economic growth.
Commerzbank advanced after the lender said its second quarter profit more than doubled from last year, with significant growth in Core Bank revenues. Deutsche Bank also gained. Daimler, Volkswagen and BMW finished moderately lower, but Audi advanced. Finnish network equipment maker Nokia has agreed to sell its HERE digital mapping and location services business to a consortium, comprising AUDI, BMW and Daimler. Meanwhile, Both Fresenius and Fresenius Medical Care were up on the day. Deutsche Telekom and Deutsche Post also advanced. Lafarge climbed after the European Commission said it has decided to close an antitrust investigation opened in December 2010 against a number of European cement manufacturers.
Both Technip and Total retreated. Intertek surged after its first-half pre-tax profit increased. Rolls-Royce advanced after ValueAct increased its stake in the company to over 5%. HSBC climbed after it reported a 10% increase in its profit before tax for the first half of the year. HSBC also said that on July 31 it agreed to sell its Brazil business to Banco Bradesco S.A. for $5.2 billion. Mining stocks were under pressure due to the disappointing Chinese manufacturing report. Anglo American, BHP Billiton, Glencore and Rio Tinto were down. Heineken gained after the company’s first-half net profit rose and it reaffirmed its full-year outlook.
The euro area manufacturing sector continued to expand in July despite a deep contraction in Greece. The manufacturing PMI reading was 52.4, slightly above the flash estimate of 52.2, but down from June’s 14-month high of 52.5. Germany’s manufacturing PMI was 51.8, down slightly from June’s 51.9. In France, the PMI slid to 49.6 in July from 50.7 in June. UK PMI improved to 51.9 in July from a 26-month low of 51.4 in June.
Asia Pacific
Most Asian stocks fell broadly Monday as weaker energy prices and downbeat Chinese manufacturing data sapped investors’ appetite for risk. Manufacturing PMI surveys across much of Asia painted a bleak picture, spurring concerns over global economic growth. While activity in Japan’s manufacturing sector expanded in July and Australia’s manufacturing sector surged back into the expansion zone. The manufacturing gauges for South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia and Indonesia all held below the 50 line that separates expansion from contraction. Activity in China’s manufacturing sector contracted further to a two-year low in July, due to renewed declines in total new work and new export orders. The final PMI reading dropped to 47.8 from 49.4 in June. The report followed downbeat official PMI figures released by the statistics bureau over the weekend. The CFLP declined to 50 from June’s sluggish growth reading of 50.2.
The Shanghai Composite retreated 1.1% in response to the disappointing data, while the Hang Seng declined 0.91%. Meanwhile, China’s securities regulator has restricted a stock trading account of US-based hedge fund Citadel from buying shares as part of its efforts to crackdown on malicious short selling. It has also launched a probe into automated trading and restricted trading in 34 stock accounts for three months, citing suspicious trading behavior. Chicago-based Citadel Securities owns one of the 34 accounts frozen by the regulator.
The Nikkei slipped 0.2% as weakening oil prices, downbeat US wage growth and Chinese manufacturing data kept investors on edge. The lack of a deal on the Trans-Pacific Partnership at the end of key ministerial talks in Hawaii also dampened investor sentiment. Sumitomo Chemical, Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding, Nippon Sheet Glass, Mitsubishi Logistics and Nisshin Steel tumbled. JX Holdings and Inpex Corp retreated as oil prices extended losses on persistent concerns about the global supply glut. Construction equipment maker Komatsu, which has heavy exposure to China, dropped while Hitachi Construction Machinery also declined.
Both the S&P/ASX and All Ordinaries were down 0.3%. BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Newcrest, Santos, Woodside Petroleum and Oil Search all declined. The Kospi dropped 1.1% as weak exports data added to concerns over the economy. The country’s exports shrank in July for a seventh consecutive month due to sluggish global demand and low oil prices. The Sensex added 0.3% despite weak global signs as investors fretted about slower Chinese growth. Oil prices continued to slide on fears of a global supply glut and the rupee rebounded after two days of losses, helping to underpin investor sentiment ahead of the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) monetary policy review on Tuesday.
Global Stock Market Recap

Please remember, the value of investments and the income from them can do down as well as up. Funds that invest in overseas markets may be subject to currency fluctuations. Investments in small and emerging markets can be more volatile than other overseas markets. Reference in this document to specific securities should not be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell these securities, but is included for the purposes of illustration only.
Looking forward*
Australia posts June merchandise trade and retail sales. The Reserve Banks of Australia and India both announce their monetary policy decisions. The Eurozone releases June producer prices. In the US, June factory orders will be reported.
*Note — all releases are listed in local time.