Wall Street rally continues as FTSE 100 touches 3-month high.
The FTSE 100 and European markets finished mostly higher this Wednesday after a steep drop in inflation fuelled investors’ hopes of interest rate cuts, but Europe closed mixed.
The FTSE 100 (^FTSE) rose 1.1% to 7,720 points during afternoon trading, after touching its highest level since Sept. 21 earlier, while in Paris the CAC 40 (^FCHI) rose 0.1% to 7,584 points. In Germany, the DAX (^GDAXI) slipped 0.1% to 16,732. Europe’s Stoxx 600 (^STOXX) rose 0.2%, with telecom stocks leading gains.
Across the pond, US stocks were higher, as the record-setting rally continued amid signs of cooling inflation in Europe and the UK that propped up faith in the likelihood of interest rate cuts early next year.
The Dow Jones (^DJI) rose 0.1% to 37,588 points. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) gained 0.1% to 4,771 points and the tech-heavy NASDAQ (^IXIC) climbed 0.3% to 15,040.
Wall Street has rallied as the Fed now sees 75 basis points of rate cuts coming in 2024, which accounts for one more rate cut than had been projected in September. However, Fed officials have tried to quell bets on a rate cut as early as March.
In Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 (^N225) climbed 1.4% to 33,675 points a day after the Bank of Japan maintained its super-loose monetary policy, while the Hang Seng (^HSI) in Hong Kong gained 0.7% to 16,613. The Shanghai Composite (000001.SS) lost 1% and closed at 2,902 points.
The pound’s (GBPUSD=X) slipped against the dollar, with sterling trading at $1.2653. The sterling (GBPEUR=X) was also lower against the euro, trading at €1.1568.
Meanwhile, Brent crude (BZ=F) climbed yet again, trading at over $80 (£63.10) per barrel as more companies join BP in avoiding transits through the Red Sea after attacks on shipping in the important trade route.
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Pedro Goncalves
That is all from us today but do check out our US blog for the latest moving stocks across the pond.
See you all tomorrow,
PHG
Pedro Goncalves
Energy bills set to fall by £270 from April, new forecast suggests
Energy bills are due to fall by hundreds of pounds for the typical household from the start of April, as international gas prices dropped in recent weeks, new forecasts have suggested.
Experts said that bills could fall to their lowest point in a little over two years. Worries that the recent flare-up in hostilities in the Middle East could push up prices significantly have so far seemed largely unfounded, and the impact of strikes in Australia has also proven limited.
It means that, according to Cornwall Insight, households on the price cap tariff will pay 24.09p per unit of electricity and 5.96p per unit of gas they use from April 1.
It means that the typical household, which uses around 2,700 units of electricity and 11,500 units of gas, will see its bills fall from £1,928 per year to just £1,660.
Pedro Goncalves
LadBible owner reports sales growth as global audience surpasses 440 million
The media group which owns digital publisher LadBible has revealed it is expecting a jump in sales and earnings over 2023 after building its audience and advertisers.
Manchester-based LBG Media, which also owns brands SportBible, Tyla and UniLad, said it was performing well in the UK and Ireland despite profits dragging in Australia.
Social media followers across its brands have surged to more than 440 million, up from 410 million in June, the group revealed.
The youth publisher said it expects to report revenue growth from nearly £63 million last year to about £67 million this year.
Pedro Goncalves
2023 has been ‘comeback year’ for spending on live events, says HSBC
With panto season in full swing, 2023 has been a “comeback year” for spending on live events, according to a major bank’s analysis of its customers’ habits.
HSBC UK, which analysed customers’ debit and credit card spending, said the number of transactions made for live events more than doubled in the month of August 2023, compared with the month of January 2020.
The average customer is currently spending between £50 and £60 per month on live events, with women being more likely to buy tickets for live events than men, the bank found.
HSBC also recorded a 117% rise in transactions for theatre productions, when comparing the month of January 2020 with May 2023.
Pedro Goncalves
House prices fell 1.2% in October, says ONS
The average UK house price fell by 1.2% in the 12 months to October 2023, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
This was a steeper decline than a decrease of 0.6% recorded in the 12 months to September 2023.
The average UK house price was £288,000 in October 2023, which was £3,000 lower than 12 months earlier.
Average house prices over the 12 months to October 2023 decreased in England to £306,000 (falling by 1.4%) and decreased in Wales to £214,000 (falling by 3.0%), but increased in Scotland to £191,000 (a 0.2% increase).
Pedro Goncalves
Fall in inflation could help mortgage holders
Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride said the fall in inflation could allow the Bank of England to ease interest rates, helping homeowners struggling with mortgage costs.
He told LBC Radio: “The interesting thing is that this 3.9% is a rather better number than was anticipated – many economists were thinking about 4.3%.
“So it could be that this is coming down a bit faster than many had imagined.
“And I think this is really good news. I think this is a turning point. I think the economy will definitely start to benefit from this.”
He added: “A greater decrease in inflation of course means that monetary policy might be loosened a little bit more quickly than it would otherwise be – in other words, interest rates coming down.
“Those are matters for the independent Bank of England, they are not for me to predict, but if inflation comes down faster than expected, then that does take some pressure off the Bank of England in terms of keeping interest rates higher, which of course in time and in turn feeds into mortgage rates.”
Pedro Goncalves
UK inflation slows to 3.9%
UK inflation fell by more than expected to 3.9% in November, in the lowest annual rate for more than two years.
Transport, recreation and culture, and food and non-alcoholic beverages were the biggest drivers of inflation’s larger than expected fall from 4.6% to 3.9%, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
UK households should feel some relief when going grocery shopping as bread and cakes prices fell between October and November, as did meat, milk, cheese and eggs.
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On October 8, as the world was beginning to comprehend what had just happened in southern Israel, most decent people – including many who would go on to decry Israel’s retaliatory campaign – expressed genuine horror at what Gaza’s Islamist barbarians had done. But a substantial minority was openly cheering. Not just in Turkey and Iran, but in Toronto and London.
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