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UK Market News: The UK stock market extended its weakness on Thursday. The blue-chip FTSE100 index was trading in red after weak UK retail sales fuelled concerns about slowing economic growth.
According to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), retail sales in March slumped by 1.4% as rising inflation erodes the real disposable income of households and was further driven by sales of clothing, food, footwear, and fuel. On Friday, the pound fell below US$1.29 against the dollar for the first time since late 2020.
HomeServe Plc (LON:HSV): The shares of the multinational home emergency repairs and improvements company were up by around 14.82% after it said it was in talks with Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management for a possible offer for the home repair services firm.
B&M European Value Retail S.A. (LON:BME): The share of the leading variety goods value retailer was down by 6.11% after the company announced that Simon Arora after over 17 years as CEO intends to retire from his role as Chief Executive Officer and Director of the Company.
Ocado Group Plc (LON:OCDO): The share of the online grocery retailer fell by around 4% after ONS announced a slump in UK retail sales by 1.4% driven by sales of food, clothing, footwear, and fuel.
US Markets: The US market is likely to have a flat start, as implied by the future indices. S&P 500 future was down by 65.79 points or 1.48% at 4,393.66, while the Dow Jones 30 futures was down by 1.05% or 368.03 points at 34,792.76. The technology-heavy index Nasdaq Composite future was down by 1.99% at 13,720.45 (At the time of writing – 8:50 AM ET).
US Market News:
Shares of the credit card service company, American Express (AXP) were up by 1.2% in the premarket trading after the company reported better-than-expected profit and revenue for the first quarter. The credit card service company reported a profit of US$2.73 per share, up from the estimate of US$2.44.
Shares of the multinational personal care manufacturer, Kimberly-Clark (KMB) were up by 3.8% in the premarket trading after the company reported better than expected quarterly earnings and revenue as it was able to deal with a volatile and inflationary situation and raised its full-year organic sales forecast.
European Indices Performance (at the time of writing):
FTSE 100 Index One Year Performance (as on 31 December 2021)
1 Year FTSE 100 Chart (Source: Refinitiv)
Top 3 Volume Stocks in FTSE 100*: Lloyds Banking Group plc (LLOY), Vodafone Group Plc (VOD), and Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc (LON: RR.)
Top 3 Sectors traded in green*: Utilities (1.05%), Consumer Non-Cyclicals (0.29%) and Real Estate (0.01%).
Top 3 Sectors traded in red*: Financials (-1.53%), Consumer Cyclicals (-1.51%), Energy (-1.26%)
London Stock Exchange: Stocks Performance (at the time of writing)
Crude Oil Future Prices*: Brent future crude oil (future) price and WTI crude oil (future) price were hovering at $107.17/barrel and $102.59/barrel, respectively.
Gold Price*: Gold price was quoted at US$ 1,936.65 per ounce, down by 0.61% against the prior day’s closing.
Currency Rates*: GBP to USD: 1.2911; EUR to USD: 1.0824.
Bond Yields*: US 10-Year Treasury yield: 2.928%; UK 10-Year Government Bond yield: 1.9895%.
*At the time of writing
