Thursday,01 February 2024 16:59:51

Market Report by Email

If you would like to receive the daily Market Report by email please fill out your name and email address in the sign-up form below and you will be added to our mailing list.

Thursday,01 February 2024 at 17:00

UK and European stocks were slightly lower after the Bank of England held interest rates steady and euro zone inflation figures gave a mixed picture.

The dollar strengthened after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell pushed back on the idea of a first U.S. interest rate cut as soon as March.

Global oil prices climbed in early trade as China unveiled new support measures for its embattled property market.

Gold prices oscillated, weighed by a stronger dollar but bullion held its ground as investors continued to cling to the hope that interest rates would be trimmed later this year.

The Bank of England left interest rates unchanged at 5.25% on Thursday, as widely expected.

The nine-strong Monetary Policy Committee voted by a majority of six to three to leave the cost of borrowing on hold.

External members Jonathan Haskel and Catherine Mann voted for a 0.25 percentage point increase, to 5.5%, while Swati Dhingra opted for a cut of the same size.

Markets

At the close

FTSE 100 7,622 (-0.11%)

FTSE 250 19,131 (-1.17%)

DAX 16,859 (-0.26%)

At 16:52

Dow Jones 38,235 +0.22%

S&P 500 4,866 +0.43%

NASDAQ 15,236 +0.48%

Fixed Income

UK 10-YR YIELD 3.736

Exchange Rates

GBP/USD 1.271

GBP/EUR 1.171

Commodities

Gold $2,062 +1.19%

Brent $81.19 +0.69%

Important - No news or research item should be construed as a recommendation to trade. The inclusion of securities within this report does not necessarily imply their suitability for individual portfolios or situations in respect of which further advice should be sought. Information contained in this report has been compiled from sources believed to be reliable but is not warranted to be accurate or complete.