FTSE 100 finishes a touch weaker, recovering from lows as Wall Street
At the close, the UK blue-chip index was 3.80 points, or 0.1% lower at 7,249.47, just below the day’s peak of 7,257.85 and well above the session low of 7,219.71
- FTSE 100 closes 3.80 points lower
- Wall Street posts strong gains
- US sees slowest rate of growth in over a year
5.00pm: Afternoon recovery time
The FTSE 100 ended modestly lower on Thursday, recouping earlier bigger losses in the afternoon as Wall Street made positive progress after some weak data thanks to strong earnings reports.
At the close, the UK blue-chip index was 3.80 points, or 0.1% lower at 7,249.47, just below the day’s peak of 7,257.85 and well above the session low of 7,219.71.
On Wall Street around London’s close, the Dow Jones Industrials Average was ahead 180 points, or 0.5% at 35,670, with the broader S&P 500 index 0.9% higher and the tech-laden Nasdaq Composite up 1.2%.
Joshua Mahony, senior market analyst at IG, a global leader in online trading commented: “US markets are outperforming their European counterparts, with a weaker Q3 GDP reading helping to allay fears over a swift tightening phase from the Fed. While it is questionable whether today’s GDP reading will be enough to halt the expected commencement of tapering next week, it does build on the weak payrolls figure to bring a greater degree of doubt.”
He noted: “The annualised GDP reading of 2% represents the slowest rate of growth in over a year, with labour market and supply-side constraints clearly stifling the economic recovery. Nonetheless, weakness on the GDP-front has been partially mitigated by the improved jobless claims data, with both initial and continuing claims heading lower over recent weeks. The contraction in continuing claims is particularly impressive, with the 2.2 million figure representing the lowest level since the height of the pandemic.”
Mahoney also noted: “The ECB provided an unsurprisingly cautious approach today, with their decision to keep policy unchanged largely providing a sense of stability for now. With growth and inflation forecasts due in December, it always seemed likely that we would see Lagarde & co leave things unchanged until that meeting. Despite much soul-searching from the ECB, they clearly remain steadfast in their view that this latest bout of above-target inflation will be fleeting in nature.
“Nonetheless, while the ECB continue to reiterate their view that prices will return into target range next year, the rise in two-year treasury yields does highlight growing expectations that the committee will ultimately opt to raise rates sooner than expected. After-all, markets continue to price in a 10 basis point increase to the deposit rate by next October.”
3.50pm: Sainsbury’s reassures shoppers that Christmas won’t be cancelled
The FTSE 100 clawed back nearly all of its losses before close and was down only 2 points to 7,250.
Meanwhile, J Sainsbury PLC (LSE:SBRY) tried to reassure shoppers that Christmas won’t be…
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