Lucy Harley-McKeown
US stocks up and Europe down as inflation data hits expectations
How markets are performing on Friday
The FTSE 100 was in the red on Friday in London, and European stocks were down, following a UK GDP print which showed the economy had grown at a faster clip than previously estimated in the first quarter of 2024, and at the fastest pace in the G7. Meanwhile, a key inflation data point hit expectations in the US.
FTSE 100 (^FTSE) was down around 0.2% by the time the US stock market opened.
The DAX (^GDAXI) was almost flat while the CAC (^FCHI) fell 1%. The pan-European STOXX 600 (^STOXX) fell 0.3%.
Over in the US, stocks rose as a closely-watched inflation gauge showed that prices rose last month at the slowest clip since 2021, and investors absorbed the fallout of the Biden-Trump debate.
The core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index, which strips out the cost of food and energy and is closely watched by the Fed, rose 0.1 % in May from the prior month, in line with Wall Street's expectations.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) ticked up 0.3%, the Dow (^DJI) was 0.3% higher, and the Nasdaq (^IXIC) was 0.4% higher.
Data released earlier on Friday in the UK shows that the first three months of the year saw the economy grow 0.7%. It had been estimated it would grow 0.6%. The pace of growth compared with the previous quarter was the fastest in the G7.
The most watched data release today was the PCE inflation data – a key measure of how inflation is affecting ordinary consumers and a signal of how quickly the US Federal Reserve might look to start cutting its key interest rates.
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