Shares rise again after Chinese data

US equity indices were trading 0.3% higher on Monday morning, while the EU exchanges were also stronger heading into the opening bell.

Earlier in the day, the official manufacturing Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI) fell slightly to 51 in August from 51.1 in July, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Monday. The good news is that it remained above the 50 threshold that separates growth from contraction. Analysts had expected a marginal increase to 51.2.

On the other hand, services PMI’s improved further and printed 55.2, up from 54.2 in July. Any news is bullish news; therefore, stocks were bid again.

The FX market has been calm on Monday, with the greenback trading unchanged against most of its major peers. The EURUSD pair was defending the 1.19 barrier, while cable was still above 1.33, and the USDJPY pair was last seen near 105.50.

In commodities, silver rallied 1.5% today, and gold was unchanged near 1,965 USD. Oil was also bought after Chinese numbers, and the WTI was up nearly 1%, changing hands at around 43.30 USD.