Yesterday proved to be a flat day for trading ahead of the G20 summit that kicks off in London today. The quiet trading for GBP/EUR came despite the FTSE 100 finishing the quarter on a positive note, rising by 4.3% and ending its worst first quarterly performance since its inception in 1984. It was also revealed that Gfk NOP’s Consumer Confidence Index stood at -30 in March, a rise of five points from February. This was an unexpected rise in consumer confidence, although it is still very early days to suggest that there is any significance to this.
Within the eurozone, Fortis revealed a larger than expected loss of €28bn after the bailout of the Belgian and Dutch bank last year. Fortis, which was part of the consortium that took part in the ill-fated take over of ABN Amro in 2007, was nationalised last year as the bank ran into serious financial trouble.
Both the eurozone and the UK release PMI manufacturing data this morning, with investors also keeping a keen eye on London and what, if anything, comes from the G20 summit.
No comments:
Post a Comment