A busier day for markets with much more information set for publication than yesterday, with most of it emanating from Europe.

The USD continues to strengthen against the Euro, albeit at a slow pace. The pair is currently trading at $1.1748, down from $1.1769 it was trading at this time yesterday. This is due in part to talk about the Trump tax plan. There are also some signs of Euro weakness as Spain continues to grapple with the Catalonian independence crisis.

US stocks all edged back overnight as corporate results weighed down markets. The Dow was the best of the of the bad bunch, shedding 54.67 points (-0.23%) to close at 23,273.96. The S&P 500 shaved 10.23 points (-0.40%) to end the session at 2,564.98, while the NASDAQ dropped 42.23 points (-0.64%) to close at 6,586.83. Major European stocks were reasonably flat again, the DAX adding 11.86 points (+0.09%) to close at 13,003.14, while the FTSE added 1.22 points (+0.02%) to end the session at 7,524.45.

Gold picked up a few dollars overnight, as investors show a slight amount of interest, albeit from afar. Investors are likely to hold firm and see what stocks do when the next session opens, as to whether they pour money back into the precious metal or not. Gold is currently at $1,283.80.

Investors turn to Europe for most of their data fix as Europe, Germany and France all publish their Flash Manufacturing & Services PMI figures. These figures are important as they reflect the strength of the manufacturing and services sectors within the respective economies. Other data set for release today includes:

Japan – Flash Manufacturing PMI

China – CB Leading Index

Europe – Belgian NBB Business Climate

US – Flash Manufacturing & Services PMIs, Richmond Manufacturing Index