FTSE 100 live: London markets tick lower on quiet regulatory Friday
The daily London market update: Market moving news from the FTSE 100 and around the world from City A.M.
The latest updates on the FTSE 100 and London’s financial markets from City A.M.’s newsroom in the heart of the City of London.
US stocks took a step back from their recent record high.
Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell to 39,869.38, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite also declined. Most S&P 500 sectors dropped, with only consumer staples posting gains.
Walmart’s stock surged 7 per cent on an optimistic fiscal 2025 outlook amid lower inflation expectations, while Deere’s dropped 4.8 per cent on a revised profit forecast.
Chubb’s shares rose 4.7 per cent after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway’s $6.7 billion investment, but GameStop and AMC Entertainment fell 30 per cent and 15 per cent respectively.
In Asian markets, Hong Kong stocks rose before Chinese economic data release. Hang Seng index climbed 1.1 per cent, led by Chinese tech and property firms.
Hang Seng Mainland Properties surged 2.5 per cent, while Hang Seng Tech rose 1.8 per cent. Conversely, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.48 per cent, and China’s CSI300 edged up 0.15 per cent.
In commodities, oil prices rose with Brent crude set for its first weekly gain in three weeks. US crude increased by 0.23 per cent to $79.41 per barrel, and Brent crude rose by 0.37 per cent to $83.58 per barrel.
Gold prices stood at $2,374.19 per ounce.
China experienced the sharpest monthly drop in new home prices in over nine years in April, despite efforts to stabilize the property market. Prices fell by 0.6 per cent from March, marking the tenth consecutive monthly decline.
Economic data released earlier this month from the world’s No.2 economy presented a mixed picture
However, China’s industrial output surged by 6.7 per cent year-on-year in April, exceeding expectations. Yet, retail sales only rose by 2.3 per cent, below analysts’ forecasts, and fixed asset investment expanded by 4.2 per cent in the first four months of 2024, falling short of expectations.
BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda said no immediate plans to sell significant ETF holdings. Investors eye potential income for government projects. BOJ holds about 37 trillion yen worth of ETFs, with a market value estimated at around 67 trillion yen in January. This implies a potential profit of about 30 trillion yen, Reuters reported.
OpenAI and Reddit partner, boost OpenAI’s shares by 15 per cent in after-hours trading. The deal expands OpenAI’s data sources amid legal challenges from publishers, allowing access to Reddit’s content and AI tool integration.
Investors will be keeping an eye on Eurostat’s April consumer price data for the euro area, followed by speeches from US Federal Reserve officials.
Land Securities, a top UK real estate firm, will announce its financial results. The stock has risen by 50 per cent from its 2022 low.
