Investing.com - Service sector activity in Italy grew at the fastest pace in three months in October, easing concerns over the health of the euro zone's third largest economy, data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, market research group Markit said that its Italian services purchasing managers’ index rose to a seasonally adjusted 50.8 last month from a reading of 48.8 in September. Analysts had expected the index to inch up to 49.2 in October.
A reading above 50.0 on the index indicates industry expansion, below indicates contraction.
Commenting on the report, Phil Smith, economist at Markit said, “Business activity rose slightly in October, according to the PMI, but there were few signs of encouragement in the survey’s details."
EUR/USD was trading at 1.2512 from around 1.2509 ahead of the release of the data, while EUR/GBP was at 0.7840 from 0.7843 earlier.
Meanwhile, European stock markets were higher after the open. Italy's FTSE MIB rose 0.9%, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 tacked on 0.85%, France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.8%, London’s FTSE 100 edged up 0.6%, while Germany's DAX rallied 1%.