3rd Sep 2013 13:21
LONDON (Alliance News) - UK equities have stabilised Tuesday since a mid-morning slide caused by reports of missiles being fired in the Mediterranean, with US futures indicating a higher open as traders return from the Labor Day holiday.
Ahead of the New York open, the FTSE 100 has moved back from a low of 6,456.95 to 6,498, down 0.1%. The FTSE 250 and the AIM All-Share are about flat on the day.
Stocks across Europe slid after Russia said its Black Sea radar system had spotted two balistic "objects" fired in the Mediterranean, raising fears of a situation regarding Syria. However, markets calmed after Israel said it was testing its Arrow Missile Defence system at the time the Russians had spotted the objects.
The US pre-market indicators also took a dive on the missile reports, but soon recovered as the markets play catchup with the gains made in Europe and Asia Monday. The S&P, Nasdaq and Dow are all indicated to open about 0.8% higher.
US commentators are referring to the day as 'Takeover Tuesday', with Verizon Communcations taking full control of Verizon Wireless after buying Vodafone out of its 45% stake for USD130 billion and the announcement that Nokia will no longer manufacture mobile phones as it is selling that part of the business to Microsoft.
The US Markit manufacturing PMI fell slightly to 53.1, from 53.7 previously, missing forecasts for 54, data just released show. The reading is a disappointment compared to strong PMI's coming out of the UK and is giving a further boost to the pound, which trades at USD1.5560.
Still to come from the US are construction spending numbers at 1500 BST.
By Jon Darby; [email protected]; @jondarby100
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