The manufacturing activities in the USA and Europe have unexpectedly picked up pace due to strong order growth. This is a clear signal that global recovery is on its way, almost all sectors have again mobilized. The manufacturers are not facing problems such as supply disruptions. The national factory index touched the figure of 59.9%. Crossing the mark of 50 clearly indicates that manufacturing activities have expanded. Almost all industries related to electronic products, chemicals, computers and transportation equipment reported impressive growth. Many companies succeeded in overcoming the hurdles without affecting their orders.
The stocks on Wall Street were trading very impressively. In the era of pandemic, there are very minor fluctuations. However, there is no need to worry because light always appears at the end of a dark tunnel. The data of manufacturers is clearly indicating that there is an impressive recovery in the economy. As all sectors have opened, most people have returned to the workplace, and there are record job openings. The government-funded unemployment benefits are likely to end in September.
European stocks benefited due to the condition of Asian economies. In most countries, the governments immediately come forward with a stimulus package as soon as they notice signs of weakness. Some investors are concerned about rising inflation. The pan-European STOXX 600 (.STOXX) registered a growth of 0.5%. It ended at 473.12 points. Surprisingly, it was just within the striking distance of its record high figure of 476.16 points. The travel & leisure (.SXTP) and retail (.SXRP) stocks managed to touch an impressive gain of 1.8%. Due to normalization of conditions, the business of airline companies is picking up pace. The Airline SAS (SAS.ST) registered a gain of 2.4%. The unemployment rate in the Eurozone has gone down.
The retail stocks of Spain's Inditex (ITX.MC) performed impressively, rising by 3.1%. One of the largest fashion brands, Zara belongs to Inditex. JP Morgan had already predicted that there will be strong growth in the second-quarter results. Various surveys clearly indicated that the manufacturing growth in the Eurozone was very strong in August. Pernod Ricard (PERP.PA), a leading French spirits maker, managed to register a growth of 3.7% after its full-year operating profit was stronger-than-expected. The strong rebound was driven by burgeoning demand in the United States and China. BioMerieux (BIOX.PA), a noted French diagnostics specialist also climbed by 4.0%. The company accomplished its yearly earning target.
A growth of 0.2% was seen in MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares. It was at its highest figure in five weeks. Japan’s Nikkei also managed to grow by 0.1%.