London upbeat on ECB rate cut expectations

On Friday, stock markets kept their upward trajectory, despite the poor results of tech giant Salesforce; which posted its first-ever single-digit growth forecast. Market sentiment was bolstered by the US Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index, which met expectations at 2.7% year-over-year. The FTSE 100 rose by 0.5%.

European indices are flashing green this morning, driven by optimism surrounding the upcoming European Central Bank meeting. Investors are anticipating the ECB's first interest rate cut in this cycle, expected to be announced on Thursday. London was up 0.2%.

The mood was also buoyed by strong manufacturing data from China and Japan. Earlier, the Caixin manufacturing PMI for May was 51.7, indicating the strongest expansion in nearly two years. The au Jibun Bank Japan manufacturing PMI improved to 50.4 in May from 49.6 in April.

Investors will be closely watching the upcoming economic data for further direction. The focus will be on the manufacturing PMI data from Italy, France, Germany, the Eurozone, the UK, and the US.