On 03 August, 2017 – The Bank of England left its policy unchanged

Stocks retreated in Asia but rallied in Europe and were mixed in the US as investors waited for the US employment report on Friday.
United States
The S&P and the Nasdaq declined while the Dow Jones industrials were virtually unchanged Thursday. The S&P and Nasdaq were weighed down by Amazon.com, Apple and other main technology stocks. The Dow was up 9.86 points while the S&P and Nasdaq were 0.2 percent and 0.4 percent lower respectively on the day. Traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the July employment report on Friday.
Apple declined after hitting a record high the day before. Tesla jumped after reporting quarterly results above expectations. Yum Brands declined while Dish Network retreated after releasing their earnings reports. Avon Products dropped after the cosmetics seller posted an unexpected quarterly loss and said its CEO will step down. Windstream Holdings posted a steep loss after eliminating is quarterly dividend. Prudential Financial declined after its operating income missed expectations. MetLife shares retreated as well. Kellogg’s rallied after second-quarter earnings beat expectations. Clorox advanced after the company reported a climb in net profits for the latest quarter.
GoPro reported a smaller quarterly loss. The company said revenue rose to $296.5 million in the second quarter ended June 30 from $220.8 million a year earlier. GoPro’s net loss narrowed to $30.5 million from $91.8 million a year earlier.
In economic news, weekly jobless claims declined 5,000 to 240,000. The July ISM nonmanufacturing index slid to 53.9 last month from 57.4 in June. June factory orders were up 3.0 percent after declining 0.8 percent in May. However, excluding transportation, orders were down 0.2 percent on the month.
These data reflect observations at 4:00 PM US ET. Gold at the afternoon London fixing was down US$1.50 to US$1,268.10. Copper futures were down 0.2 percent to US$2.88. WTI spot crude was down 65 US cents to US$48.94. Dated Brent spot crude was down 43 US cents to US$51.93. The US dollar was down against the yen, euro and Swiss franc. The currency was up against the pound and the Canadian and Australian dollars. The Dollar Index was down 0.2 percent. The yield on US Treasury 30 year bond was down 6 basis points to 2.79 percent while the yield on the 10 year note was down 4 basis points to 2.22 percent.
Europe
European shares were mixed Thursday — a slew of upbeat earnings results and encouraging regional data helped offset caution prior to the release of the US employment report on Friday. The DAX retreated 0.2 percent while the FTSE jumped 0.9 percent, the CAC added 0.5 percent and the SMI was 0.2 percent higher.
The Bank of England left its Bank Rate at 0.25 percent as expected and maintained the size of its asset purchase program. The monetary policy committee voted 6 to 2. The BoE downgraded its economic growth projections for 2017 to 1.7 percent from 1.9 percent and for 2018 to 1.6 percent from 1.7 percent. The outlook for 2019 was maintained at 1.8 percent. The BoE once again hinted at an interest rate increase next year.
UniCredit shares jumped after the Italian bank posted strong profits for the second quarter, thanks to lower costs and higher fee income. Retailer Next also advanced in London after posting sales growth in the second quarter and announcing a special quarterly dividend. Randgold Resources climbed after solid first-half numbers. Deutsche Telekom was higher after its second quarter profit topped forecasts.
British satellite operator Inmarsat tumbled after its first-half sales growth slowed. Siemens declined after the company said it plans to float its healthcare unit in the first half of 2018. Diageo advanced. Shire declined after the company upgraded its earnings forecast and said it was exploring options for its hyperactive drugs business, including a listing. French stationery supplier Bic jumped after reporting sales up 3 percent in the first half.
In economic news, June Eurozone retail sales were up 0.5 percent on the month and 3.1 percent from a year ago. July composite PMI declined to 55.7 from 56.3 in July. However, the UK services PMI climbed to 53.8 from 53.4 in June.
Asia Pacific
Asian shares declined Thursday as investors took profits as they waited for the Bank of England’s interest rate decision later in the global market day and the US employment report on Friday.
The Shanghai Composite lost 0.4 percent. A combination of liquidity concerns and the services PMI that showed the sector slowed China’s services sector slowed in July as new business growth eased. The Caixin China services PMI slipped to 51.5 from 51.6 in June. The Hang Seng lost 0.3 percent.
The Nikkei was down 0.3 percent while the Topix slipped 0.56 point. Once again the yen’s strength pulled down exporters and investors took profits in tech shares. Market participants also studied the latest cabinet reshuffle by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and disappointing data on service sector growth. Tokyo Electron and Advantest were down. ANA Holdings advanced after its first quarter pretax profit jumped 130 percent to a record ¥24.7 billion thanks to revenue growth in the air transportation business.
The S&P/ASX was down 0.2 percent while the All Ordinaries were 0.1 percent lower. Rio Tinto tumbled after its earnings for the first half of 2017 missed expectations. BHP Billiton and Fortescue Metals Group declined after Chinese iron ore futures were lower after a three-day rally. Insurer Suncorp Group tumbled after its annual profit fell short of expectations. Insurance Australia Group and QBE Insurance also were lower. June’s merchandise trade surplus narrowed but services sector data helped to limit losses to some extent.
The Kospi tumbled 1.7 percent after the government announced plans to raise the rate of taxation for large businesses. The Sensex was down 0.7 percent — banks retreated amid concerns that their net interest margins will come down in a low interest-rate environment. Disappointing service data also weighed on investors. July services PMI reading was 45.9, down from June’s 53.1. The July reading was the lowest in nearly four years after the GST launch.
Looking forward
Australia reports June retail sales. Germany releases June manufacturing orders. Canada posts June international trade and July labour force survey. The US releases June international trade data and the July employment situation report.
Global Stock Markets

*Note — all releases are listed in local time.

Source: Fidelity

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