On the first trading day of the second quarter and European markets are mixed with London feeling nervous ahead of trade talks between the US and China while Germany’s DAX heads for another all-time high.
There’s been lots of data releases with UK’s manufacturing sector weakened slightly in March with the PMI figure slipping to 54.2 from a downwardly revised 54.5 in February, undershooting economists' forecast of 55. The survey revealed that this sector lost some of its momentum as export orders grew at a slower pace and demand for consumer goods dropped against a backdrop of rising inflation pressures. Following those UK manufacturing figures, which showed that growth in the sector slowed slightly in March, the pound has fallen to $1.2499 against the dollar.
Meanwhile, Eurozone factory growth hits six-year high. Companies reported a surge of orders from domestic and export clients, leading to faster job creation, driving the manufacturing PMI up to 56.2 in March, up from 55.4 in February. It’s growing so fast – that some firms are saying that their suppliers are struggling to meet demand.
And more good news...Eurozone unemployment has fallen to an eight-year low. The eurozone jobless rate fell to 9.5% in February, down from 9.6% in January, the lowest rate recorded in the euro area since May 2009.
Imagination Technologies’ share price has taken a pounding after it made shock announcement that Apple, its largest customer, will no longer use its intellectual property in its new products. Apple provides around half of its revenue by using its intellectual property in iPhones, iPads, and iPods. But it’s not over, Imagination said it will be “extremely challenging” for Apple to design new chip architecture without infringing its intellectual property rights. Their business deal will cease to exist in about 15 months’ time.
--- Written by Katie Pilbeam, DailyFX
