Financial Markets Daily Report26 octubre 2020
Investor risk appetite was mixed in the last session of the week. Advanced-economy stocks gained but EM equities nudged down, while the USD weakened and commodity prices declined.
- Investor risk appetite was mixed in the last session of the week. Advanced-economy stocks gained but EM equities nudged down, while the USD weakened and commodity prices declined. On the data front, early indicators for October showed an improvement in sentiment in the U.S. but a worsening in the euro area.
- The U.S. composite PMI rose to 55.5 points in October from 54.3 in September, fueled by improvements both in manufacturing and services. In the euro area, the composite PMI declined from 50.4 to 49.4 (Germany's ticked marginally down to 54.5 and France's dipped to 47.3) driven by a worsening in services activity.
- In fixed-income markets, sovereign yields nudged down across the U.S. and Europe, and euro area peripheral spreads narrowed. Once markets had closed, S&P left Italy's rating unchanged (BBB) but improved its outlook to 'stable'.
- This week the focus will be on the monetary policy meetings of the ECB and the Bank of Japan (both on Thursday).