Market overview: FTSE ends up a touch higher after mixed day of earnings and data
1650 (Close): The FTSE 100 ended the day up 27.41 points to 6,696.28 after a mixed day of corporate reports and economic data. Eurozone inflation held steady in July while US consumer confidence was revised lower in July, separate reports showed. Company-wise Cruise operator Carnival sailed to the top of the leader-board mid-afternoon on a gust of positive sentiment from across the Atlantic.
Antofagasta
2,255.00p
16:45 10/05/24
Banks
4,318.88
17:09 10/05/24
FTSE 100
8,433.76
16:34 10/05/24
FTSE 250
20,645.38
16:30 10/05/24
FTSE 350
4,634.75
17:09 10/05/24
FTSE All-Share
4,586.29
16:50 10/05/24
ITV
78.30p
16:40 10/05/24
Liberty Global plc Series A
$16.71
12:20 10/05/24
Lloyds Banking Group
54.30p
16:35 10/05/24
Media
12,379.53
17:09 10/05/24
Mining
10,557.92
17:09 10/05/24
Moneysupermarket.com Group
235.00p
16:35 10/05/24
Nasdaq 100
18,161.18
12:15 10/05/24
1500: The University of Michigan’s index on US consumer confidence was revised lower to 93.1 in July from an earlier estimate 93.3, according to a final reading. Analysts had expected a reading of 94.
1451: The Chicago PMI index climbed to 54.7% in July from 49.4% in the previous month, reaching its highest level since January.
1415: The cost of employment in the US came to a sharp slowdown in the second quarter, data released on Friday showed. The employment cost index rose 0.2% in the second quarter compared with a 0.7% pace in the previous three months, registering an all-time low since record began in 1982. The figure was comfortably below forecast for a 0.6% gain.
1312: Barclays is reportedly cutting about 150 jobs at its investment bank as part of an attempt to cut costs and improve profitability, according to Reuters. New executive chairman John McFarlane had only this week expressed his pleasure with the improved performance of the investment bank, saying it remained a core part of the group but he needed be scaled back in areas where it was not strong.
1224: Greek retail sales rose 4.2% in May from the same month a year earlier, according to the country’s statistics service Elstat. German retail sales rose 5.1% year-on-year in June, beating expectations for a 4% increase.
1152: Russia has trimmed its interest rates by 50 basis points to 11%, triggered by the ruble's recent fall. Moscow's central bank said in a statement on its website that despite a slight increase in inflation risks, the balance of risks was shifting towards a considerable cooling of the economy. CBR policymakers are no longer committing themselves to lowering interest rates further.
1130: The rate of unemployed people in the Eurozone remained unchanged in June at 11.1% for the third consecutive month, although the number of jobless people rose by 31,000 as Italy’s jobless rate rose from 12.5% to 12.7%.
1116: Switzerland's central bank has reported a first half loss of 50bn francs on foreign exchange losses as the franc has risen sharply against the euro.
1005: Observing Lloyds's share price dip, Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets, referenced some classic hiphop as he noted that while the bank's 0.75p interim dividend will please the income seekers, "news that the bank might consider an illusionary share buyback instead of special dividends to return capital to shareholders as it rebuilds its capital buffer will be a worry for those who went without regular income for so long post-bailout and quite rightly consider cash as king". Referencing LL Cool J's 1990 track 'Mama Said Knock You Out', van Dulken warned "don't call it a buyback", and added that statutory profits of £1.2bn was well below the consensus £1.8bn.
0950: Shares in Moneysupermarket are down 4.4% after personal finance guru Martin Lewis, whose Moneysavingexpert website the company bought in 2012, sold 9m shares.
0940: ITV is leading the FTSE 100 risers after US media giant Liberty Global increased its stake to just under 10%. Near the biggest fallers was Antofagasta, down 2.3% despite the 'earnings-accretive' acquisition of a 50% stake in a nearby Chilean copper mine. Lloyds was another heavyweight faller as, while it posted a 15% increase in underlying first-half profits, as analysts picked holes in the numbers.
0935: The London trading session began in indecisive mood, with the FTSE 100 oscillating around parity in the first hour and half. There is a paucity of UK data on Friday, but euro zone CPI and unemployment figures at 10:00 BST. The more UK-focused FTSE 250 index moving sharply higher on results from the likes of JD Fashion and UBM. Simon Smith, chief economist at FxPro noted that, as the last trading day of the month, Friday was likely to "bring risk of choppier than normal trading as institutional investors re-balance portfolios and funds adjust to fit around month end performance statistics".