The FTSE 100 Futures is trading at 6,080.20 with a loss of -0.76% percent or -46.80  point. The CAC 40 Futures is trading at 4,945.80 with a loss of  -0.49% percent or -24.20 point. The DAX Futures is trading at 12,861.00 with a loss of -0.50% or -64.10 point. The EURO Stoxx 50 Futures trading at 3,286.00 with a loss of -0.60% percent or -20.00 point.

TODAY’S FACTORS AND EVENTS

Retail sales, which include spending at restaurants and service stations, rose 1.2% last month, according to the Commerce Department, missing an average forecast of 1.9% and falling well below the growth rate of 8.4% recorded in June.

Weak data out of China, which revealed retail sales had dropped 1.1% last month, and a spike in new Covid-19 cases in France also weighed on sentiment at the open.

Elsewhere on the macro front, industrial production rose 5.4% in June, a second consecutive monthly gain following steep drops in March and April, according to the Federal Reserve. Wall Street economists had forecast a 4.1% gain. This followed a record 12.5% drop in April and a 4.4% fall in March.

YESTERDAY ACTIVITY

For the day the FTSE 100 closed at 6,127.44  up with +0.61% percent or +37.40 point. France’s CAC  40 closed at 4,971.94 up with +0.18% percent or +9.01  point.Germany’s DAX closed at 12,920.66 up with +0.15% percent or +19.32 point.

WORLD MARKETS

For the day the Dow is trading at 27,844.91 with a loss of -0.31% percent or ?86.11 point. The S&P 500 is trading at 3,381.99 up with +0.27% percent or +9.14 point. The Nasdaq Composite is trading at 11,129.73 up with +1.00% percent or +110.42 point.

In other parts of world, Japan’s Nikkei 225 is trading at at 23,051.08 with a loss of –0.20% percent or –45.67 point. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is trading at 25,308.80 with a loss of –0.15% percent or –38.54 point. China’s Shanghai  Composite is trading at 3,451.09 up with +0.36% percent or +12.29 point. India’s BSE Sensex is trading at 38,266.09 up with +0.57% percent or +0.57%  point at 12:15 PM.