The FTSE 100 has started with modest gains today, led by miners, after a strong finish to an otherwise-disappointing June.
That comes despite a tough start for the blue-chip index’s biggest stock, with AstraZeneca down more than 4%.
Markets will keenly await purchasing managers’ index data from the manufacturing sector for the UK and Europe, which will be released later this morning.
The S&P/CIPS manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) came to 46.5 for June, compared to the flash figure of 46.2. That’s still well below the 50 mark that separates growth from decline.
