It was a positive week in global and US equities as renewed hopes for a new interim deal between United States and Iran lifted investor optimism early in the week. Focus shifted to the US labour market as the week progressed – jobs openings missed estimates, however initial jobless claims came in below 200k. The main event of the week was Friday’s jobs report, US employers unexpectedly cut jobs in July, suggesting the labour market was weaker than previously thought. In other data, the ISM Non-Manufacturing index rose to 54.1 in July, narrowly lagging expectations but remaining above 50 level signalling expansion.

It was a quiet week on the data front in Eurozone and United Kingdom. The Japanese Yen was in the headlines…