Overview

• Major European indexes inched higher, with the FTSE 100 up 0.1%, Germany’s DAX up 0.6% and France’s CAC 40 up 0.1%.
• U.S. financial markets were closed for Labor Day, reducing liquidity and muting cross-Atlantic flows.
• Investors are watching eurozone inflation on Tuesday and a packed U.S. jobs docket culminating in Friday’s August payrolls report, with UK retail sales due Friday forecast to rise 0.3% month on month.
• China’s factory signals were mixed, as the RatingDog manufacturing gauge printed 50.5 while the official PMI stayed in contraction at 49.4, and Asia trading was uneven with Japan’s Nikkei lower and Alibaba jumping nearly 19% in Hong Kong.
• Gold prices climbed, supporting London-listed miners, while utilities weighed on the FTSE 100’s advance.