FTSE 100 Climbs to 4-Month High

The British economy likely maintained its growth momentum during the third quarter, underpinned by a rebound in manufacturing and construction. Tuesday’s figures from the Office for National Statistics revealed that industrial production gained 0.20% in August from the prior month, while construction output grew 0.60% during the same period.

However, the one disappointment metric was the country's August trade deficit ballooning to GBP 5.63 billion from an upwardly revised GBP 4.24 billion shortfall in July. Separately, a survey conducted by the British Retail Consortium found that same store retail sales increased 1.90% year-over-year in September, supported by higher food and clothing prices.

FTSE 100 futures broke above the key resistance at 7500 on greater-than-average volumes in late Tuesday trading, with the benchmark last seen around 7510.

Consumers in Australia are exhibiting more optimistic sentiment in October, with the number of optimists outweighing pessimists for the first time since November of last year.

According to the widely-followed monthly survey, the Westpac-Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment Index rose 3.60% to 101.4 in October from 97.9 in September, the highest level in the index since October of 2016. The strongest gains were recorded in the sub-index for economic conditions over the next 12 months, which surged 7.10% to a four-year high.

Among the professional groups tracked by the survey, trade workers experienced the biggest jump in confidence, up 22.00% month over month while reflecting continued strength in residential construction activity. The upbeat report came despite weak retail sales figures last week that fanned investor concerns about rising debt and stagnant wages.

AUDUSD gave back most of the gains recorded during the Asian overnight session, with the pair currently hovering around 0.7785.