The markets closed on Friday on a rather sombre note. However later in the night, the U.S. Senate approved the tax bill which was passed by a narrow vote. The latest hurdle being crossed places the much talked about tax reforms one step closer. Both the Senate and the House are now expected to craft a joint bill.
On the economic front, the ISM’s manufacturing PMI released on Friday showed that the U.S. manufacturing activity slipped slightly to 58.2. This was lower than forecasts and down from 58.7 in October. Friday was also data heavy from Canada. The monthly employment report showed Canadian unemployment rate falling to 5.9% from 6.3% the month before. GDP data for the month also showed a modest increase of 0.2% which was higher than the forecasts.
Looking ahead, Monday starts off with the UK’s construction PMI. Forecasts point to a modest increase to 51.2 in November, up from October’s 50.8. This comes after Friday’s manufacturing PMI showed strong gains. The Eurozone Sentix investor confidence data is also expected to come out later followed by the factory orders report from the U.S. later in the day.
