UK manufacturing PMI up strongly in October

A positive start to the week for US equity markets with the main indices gaining more than 1%. The S&P 500 is now up around 13% from its late summer lows and is only around 1% from its intra-year high set last May.

It was quiet in currency markets with the euro continuing to trade at just over $1.10 against the dollar and at around 71.5p against sterling

The manufacturing PMI in the UK rose to a sixteen month high of 55.5 in October (from 51.8 in September) amid ‘solid improvements’ in output and new  orders, perhaps pointing to a change of fortune for this sector of the economy

The ISM manufacturing index in the US was largely unchanged in October at just over 50, though the details were stronger than the headline number suggests with a pick up in both orders and output in the month.

Data due today include the construction PMI in the UK and factory orders in the US