Look ahead 23/11/23: Euro Zone manufacturing and services PMI; Mitie; Thanksgiving retail focus

(Video Transript)

US markets close for Thanksgiving

Hello, I'm Angeline Ong, and welcome to your Look Ahead to Thursday, 23 November 2023. Now it's Thanksgiving, so US stock markets will not be trading.

However, I can tell you that it is a big retail week, and of course, we've had some economic data ahead of that, which means the dollar index, this is the initial jobless claims and also the durable goods data.

In the Euro Zone on Thursday we've got manufacturing and services purchasing managers index (PMI); these are the flash numbers. Just checking in on the euro versus sterling here, because on Tuesday, the pound hit a 10-week high against a weaker dollar. It also rose to a new highest against the euro.

This is as the Bank of England governor, Andrew Bailey, reiterated that the central bank's stance on interest rates did not need changing.

Last few earnings worth watching

What's also going to be key out of the UK will be numbers from a few key names left in the earnings season, as Firstgroup, first-half numbers, Virgin Money out with four-year numbers and Mitie Group will also be reporting first-half numbers.

Mitie, if you recall back in the early part of October, this is the British outsourcing firm, well, it became the top percentage gainer on the FTSE 250 index after saying that it's expecting higher annual profit, because it won and extended a number of significant new contracts, while also benefiting from its cost-cutting measures to improve margins.

There you have it. Keep an eye on the euro, the pound and the dollar, as liquidity is probably going to be much lower given the Thanksgiving celebrations in the US. Until then, that's it for now.

For more market-moving news, I'll be back on beat the street at 1.30pm London time, and also IG's Jeremy Naylor will be on at 7.30am on early morning call to give you a heads-up to the European trading day. Follow me on Twitter @AngelineOng. This is IGTV.