Asian markets traded relatively flat throughout the night, unable to continue the gains seen throughout Europe and the US yesterday as Chinese HSBC manufacturing PMI data came in at 48.3, slightly better than the March figure however not yet in expansion territory. One key mover throughout the night was the Aussie dollar which tanked off the back of weaker than expected CPI data. Australian q/q CPI rose 0.6%, missing estimates of 0.8% causing the AUD to sell off.
The FTSE 100 looks set for a slightly weaker open, down approximately 6 points prior to the opening bell however we have a day full of important economic data which could swing markets either way. French Manufacturing PMI kick-starts the day at 8:00am, shortly followed by German Manufacturing PMI at 8:30am. Further into the session, GBP official bank rate votes and asset purchase facility votes are set to be released before the USD new home sales later in the afternoon.