Daily summary: Global stocks rebound ahead of US election day

 

European indices finished today's session firmly higher, trying to recover from their worst week since March. Investors welcomed better-than-expected manufacturing PMI data from Eurozone and China. Meanwhile British PM Boris Johnson announced over the weekend that England will  enter a strict one-month lockdown from Thursday, while other countries in the continent imposed stricter restrictions. On the corporate front, British online supermarket and technology group Ocado stock rose 8% after company lifted its  earnings outlook. The DAX 30 rose 2%, CAC 40% added 2.11% and FTSE 100 finished 1.39% higher.

US indices are also trading higher as investors are preparing for an event-packed week centered around the US presidential election. Democratic candidate Joe Biden is ahead in the national polls but anxiety and uncertainty about the results mount as many states will not have complete results on election night due to the increase in mail voting. Meanwhile the number of new Covid-19 cases is rising in so called "swing states" including Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, Ohio, Wisconsin and Texas. Pennsylvania, a state that could decide the presidency, recorded record number of more than 2,700 Covid-19 cases this week, the highest since the star of the pandemic. The US seven-day average of new cases reached new record level of 81 thousand on Sunday. On the data front, ISM Manufacturing PMI for the US increased to 59.3 in October from 55.4 last month, beating market forecasts of 56.8. Today's data pointed to the strongest growth in factory activity since September of 2018.

U.S. crude futures managed to erase early losses and rose over 2.0 %, while the international benchmark Brent contract added 2.2 % after Russia stated that cuts in production could be extended to mid-2021. Elsewhere, gold futures are trading 0.80% higher at $1,893/oz, while silver rose 1.7% and is trading around $24.05/ oz.