Friday,16 February 2024 09:28:09

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Friday,16 February 2024 at 09:26

UK & European stocks opened higher, coming off the back of two positive sessions that have taken markets back toward recent record highs.

Hong Kong markets led gains in Asia, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 hitting a fresh 34-year high as it attempted to scale its all-time peak.

Gold prices edged higher and breached the key $2,000 level.

Oil prices meandered as investors pondered slowing demand forecast by an influential group and weak U.S. retail sales data that sparked optimism about U.S. interest rate cuts.

In corporate news, NatWest Bank gained as it reported a 20% rise in operating profit and confirmed Paul Thwaite as chief executive on a permanent basis.

NatWest said 2023 pre-tax operating profit came in at £6.17bn, beating the £5.95bn average of analyst forecasts compiled by the bank. Total income rose to £14.7bn from £13.1bn a year earlier.

Markets

At 09:00

FTSE 100 7,646 +0.65%

FTSE 250 19,207 +0.57%

DAX 17,164 +0.69%

At the close

Dow Jones 38,773 +0.91%

S&P 500 5,029 +0.58%

NASDAQ 15,906 +0.30%

Fixed Income

UK 10-YR YIELD 4.078

Exchange Rates

GBP/USD 1.258

GBP/EUR 1.168

Commodities

Gold $2,004 +0.05%

Brent $82.29 (-0.57%)

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.