Risk appetite is rising among investors, after a set of weak data signaled a slowdown in global economic activity, which means central banks should keep their accommodating policy for longer.  Britain’s manufacturing and services PMI were lower-than-expected, and so was Friday’s U.S. jobs report.

The mix of low rates, economic growth and abundant liquidity is creating a favorable environment for financial transactions. In eight months, nearly $4 trillion in transactions were completed worldwide, the Financial Times points out based on Refinitiv data.

The FTSE 100 was down 0.4% on Friday, but achieved a weekly gain of 0.2%. The FTSE 250 dropped just 0.1% on Friday and gained 1.0% for the week.

Today, mining stocks are up due to the surge in aluminium prices, with global demand for metals boosted by the economic recovery this year. The price of aluminium has risen more than 30% since January.

Trading volumes should remain low today as U.S. markets are closed for Labor Day.

 

Things to read:

The rapid arrival of crypto-currencies in the banking industry is causing concern in Washington (New York Times)

Financial transactions hit record highs after a frenetic summer (Financial Times).

Renesas believes that Covid outbreaks will become "routine" (Financial Times)