By Dave Morris

London markets increased as gilts rallied on a speech by Bank of England Gov. Mark Carney indicating monetary policy would remain loose.

How did markets perform?

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 rose 0.7% to 7,608.8. On Tuesday it ticked up 0.8%.

The pound edged down 0.2% to $1.2570. It also declined 0.5% Tuesday.

What's moving the markets?

The European Commission broke the deadlock over several top appointments, with reports emerging Tuesday that German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen would be named EC President, and in something of an unexpected development, that long-serving International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde would head the European Central Bank (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/imfs-christine-lagarde-wins-eu-support-to-lead-european-central-bank-2019-07-02-131033418). Outgoing ECB President Mario Draghi's term ends October 31, and both the EC and ECB roles will be subject to a formal confirmation process.

Bond markets in Europe broadly rallied. At the individual country level, a speech by Bank of England Chairman Mark Carney (Need to know:Fans%20of%20the%20%27buy%20everything%27%20trade%20could%20be%20facing%20some%20dicey%20near-term%20action.%20Thanks%20to%20@jameswhelan42%20for%20the%20insights.%20https:/www.marketwatch.com/story/investors-have-been-buying-almost-everything-but-look-out-warns-fund-manager-2019-07-03?mod=mw_latestnews) late Tuesday signaled to investors that the bank might loosen the tightening bias of its monetary policy.

In economic data, the U.K. Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) services survey proved underwhelming. The CIPS services PMI for June was 50.2 versus a consensus reading of 51.

Which stocks are active?

Online real estate agency Purplebricks Group PLC (PURP.LN) reported a pretax loss for fiscal 2019 that was larger than the previous year. The company also said it had decided to exit from the U.S. market (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/purplebricks-to-exit-us-market-posts-loss-2019-07-03) after generating lower than expected revenues. Shares rose 2.8% on the news.

U.K. grocer J Sainsbury PLC's (SBRY.LN) first quarter fiscal 2020 results were hit by weak results for its clothing business (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/j-sainsbury-total-retail-sales-fall-12-2019-07-03), with total retail sales retreating 1.2%. Sainsbury's shares ticked up 0.2%.

Unite Group PLC (UTG.LN) has agreed to buy Liberty Living Group PLC (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/unite-group-buys-liberty-living-for-177-billion-2019-07-03)from a Canadian pension fund for GBP1.4 billion. Unite Group stock rose 2.4%.

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 03, 2019 07:33 ET (11:33 GMT)

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