Market overview: UK stocks track Wall Street and copper futures lower
1630:Close UK shares fell back again slightly on Tuesday, tracking the drift lower seen in US stocks. That came despite a sharp rise in European stocks as traders moved to price in the possibility of quantitative easing by the European Central Bank. That sent the European single currency lower by 0.54% to 1.2622. Three-month copper futures on the LME ended the day off by 1% at $6,676 per metric tonne on the heels of a downward revision to the HSBC Chinese manufacturing sector purchasing managers’ index for September. Associated British Foods led advancers after an upgrade out of Credit Suisse to ‘outperform’. Next and Prudential led on the downside on the top flight index. FTSE 100 down 24 to 6,622.7.
Associated British Foods
2,447.00p
16:40 19/04/24
eBay Inc.
$50.55
07:00 19/04/24
FTSE 100
7,895.85
16:59 19/04/24
NATWEST GROUP
276.10p
16:34 19/04/24
Next
8,774.00p
16:40 19/04/24
Tesco
281.40p
16:59 19/04/24
1600: The Conference Board’s index of US consumer confidence fell to 86 in September from a post-recession high of 93.4 in August, below the consensus of 92.4, led by lower expectations of the economic outlook. "Despite the larger-than-expected decline, the reading represents the fourth-highest reading during the recovery," Barclays Research said.
1553: For analysts at Nomura the latest ‘profit warning’ from Tesco puts that company’s credit metrics effectively into ‘junk’ territory, as per a research note issued on 29 September. The key metric is the company’s gearing they point out, which they estimate that in the retailer’s case - on a net debt to operating earnings (adjusted EBITDAR) basis - comes in at 3.65, whereas the threshold for ‘junk’ in the sector comes in at 3.5.
1437: The S&P/Case-Shiller 20 City Home Price Index fell 0.5% in July, weaker than the consensus estimate of 0%. June data was also revised to show a larger decline of 0.3% versus an initial estimate of 0.2%.
1227: RBS’s Alberto Gallo is of a similar opinion to Hubard, telling clients in a research note that: “Today's 0.3% print again puts the Eurozone closer to the trajectory of Japan in the '90s, and will put more pressure on Mario Draghi.”
1226: Shares of E-bay are rising 11% after announcing its intention to spin-off Pay Pal.
1205: As of 12:05 euro/pound was lower by 0.43% to 0.7779 and the euro/dollar – the most heavily traded of all the currency pairs - off by 0.83% to 1.2585. Market strategist Bill Hubard immediately wrote to clients that: “The latest inflation data suggests that price pressures in the region are non-existent as demand remains tepid and fears of disinflation begin to take hold.”
1015: The euro/dollar is now falling 0.41% to 1.2631. That may add to market jitters given preoccupation in some quarters regarding the recent strength in the US dollar.
1000: The Eurozone's consumer price index has come in at 0.3% year-on-year for September, as expected, but the 'core' rate slipped to a 0.7% year-on-year pace (consensus: 0.9%). So what matters more, the headline or the core rate of inflation? The most commonly accepted rule is that it is the core rate, although for sceptics that is sometimes just a matter of what happens to be most convenient at the time.
0930: The UK's gross domestic product expanded at a 0.9% quarter-on-quarter clip in the second quarter, a touch ahead of the 0.8% expected by economists. On the negative side of the ledger, the latest figures from ONS revealed that the country's current account deficit worsened to £23.1bn in quarter three from -£20.5bn in the previous quarter. Lloyd's business barometre for the month of September improved to a reading of 57 from 47 in the month before.
0917: German unemployment rose by 12,000 in September after a 3,000 increase a month earlier, surprising analysts who predicted a 2,000 fall. The unemployment rate held at 6.7%.
0828: UK stocks began the session modestly lower, weighed down by weakness overnight in Asia and Wall Street, although the major market indices in the latter financial venue managed to recover from their intra-session lows. RBS is leading gains early on after telling investors that it expects to “significantly” outperform its previous guidance of approximately £1bn in total impairments for the fiscal year. The HSBC Chinese manufacturing sector purchasing managers’ index for the month of September was revised lower to show a print of 50.2 versus the preliminary estimate of 50.5. FTSE 100 down 7 to 6,639.