LONDON — European stocks hardly moved on Monday morning as investors begin a new quarter in the markets in subdued fashion.
Major bourses are mixed after around an hour of trading, but moves have been small so far, following on from a decent first session of Q2 in Asia, which saw Japan’s Nikkei close 0.46% higher. That rise was aided by a survey showing a rise in confidence from Japan’s big manufacturers.
Japan’s quarterly Tankan survey released by the Japanese central bank showed that business sentiment improved in the sector for the second straight quarter.
The index rose from a reading of +11 to +12, which is the highest since December 2015 for the closely watched economic indicator.
As Mike van Dulken of Accendo Markets wrote in an email to clients a little earlier, Monday’s slight rise for European stocks comes “after a solid start to the new week, month and quarter by Asian bourses, overcoming Friday’s negative US finish. Note Germany’s DAX forecast to outperform its UK counterpart thanks to the EUR turning lower against the USD, in contrast to GBP holding up well, to offer an FX hindrance on the FTSE along with lower metals prices after a bigger back track than expected by China PMI Manufacturing.â€
In Britain, the FTSE 100 had gained as much as 0.4% in the first few minutes of trading, before dropping, and by 9.05 a.m. BST (4.05 a.m. ET) is almost entirely flat.Â
Here is the chart:
One significant move in the UK comes from tech company Imagination Technologies, which on Monday announced that Apple, its biggest customer, will no longer be using its tech.
The news sent Imagination’s share price collapsing. Stock opened down over 60% and has fallen even further as trading got underway in earnest in London. Imagination is listed on the FTSE All-Share index.
Elsewhere in Europe, markets are similarly quiet, with no major bourse moving more than 0.3%, despite the release of the latest PMI surveys from IHS Markit.
Here is the scoreboard:
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