LONDON MARKETS: FTSE 100 Swings Higher After Unexpected Decline In Inflation
18 Luglio 2017 - 12:55PM
Dow Jones News
By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
Royal Mail climbs after results
U.K. stocks turned modestly higher Tuesday, finding relief as
the pound pulled back on data showing British inflation
unexpectedly eased.
The FTSE 100 index rose 0.2% to 7,417.71, recovering from a loss
of as much as 0.6% logged earlier in the session. Utility and
financial shares were showing gains, but basic material and
consumer goods shares were among decliners.
The index flipped higher as the pound was drawn to an intraday
low of $1.3016 after the Office for National Statistics said U.K.
consumer-price inflation rose 2.6% in June
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/uk-inflation-slows-unexpectedly-in-june-2017-07-18).
That's lower than a 2.8% rate expected in a FactSet poll of
analysts. Inflation in May hit 2.9%, a four-year high.
The FTSE 100 moved higher as a weaker pound can help the many
large multinational companies on the London index that generate
revenue and earnings in overseas markets.
The inflation reading "spells a momentary setback for the pound,
as softer inflation reduces expectations of an early rise in U.K.
interest rates," wrote Mihir Kapadia, CEO of Sun Global
Investments.
Sterling had hit an intraday high of $1.3107 as the U.S. dollar
fell to lows not seen since September 2016. That was spurred after
Republican leaders in the U.S. Senate late Monday ditched their
bill to repeal and simultaneously replace
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/health-care-overhaul-seems-sunk-as-two-more-republicans-oppose-senate-bill-2017-07-17)
much of the Affordable Care Act, or "Obamacare," after it became
clear it wouldn't have enough votes to pass.
The pound later traded at $1.3026, down from $1.3054 late Monday
in New York.
First Take:Could GOP health-care bill's implosion actually lead
to a bipartisan solution?
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/could-gop-health-care-bills-implosion-lead-to-bipartisan-solution-2017-07-17)
"This implies that [U.S. President Donald] Trump's tax reform
agenda may be now more difficult to implement and may take longer
to arrive, as the cuts in health care were expected to finance some
of the promised fiscal measures," said Charalambos Pissouros,
senior analyst at IronFX, in a note.
U.K. equities were driven higher after Trump's election in
November, on the prospect that lower corporate taxes, higher fiscal
spending and a pickup in inflation in the U.S. would benefit banks,
construction companies and others.
Metals in focus: But Tuesday's decline in the dollar failed to
bolster prices for metals, which are denominated in the U.S.
currency. In turn, shares of mining companies lost ground. Iron ore
producer BHP Billiton PLC (BLT.LN) (BHP.AU) (BHP.AU) fell 1.2%, and
diversified miner Anglo American PLC (AAL.LN) lost 1.3%.
Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) (RIO) (RIO) shares were down 1.7%. On
Tuesday, the mining company lowered its export guidance for iron
ore
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/rio-tinto-reduces-iron-ore-export-forecast-2017-07-17)
on weather and maintenance disruption.
But precious metals miners Fresnillo PLC (FRES.LN) and Randgold
Resources PLC (RRS.LN) picked up 0.3% and 0.6%, respectively.
Stock movers: Royal Mail PLC (RMG.LN) jumped 3.4% after the
company reported a 1% rise in first-quarter revenue
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/royal-mail-revenue-rises-on-european-strength-2017-07-18)
as a strong performance at its Europe-wide parcel delivery business
offset weakness in the U.K.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 18, 2017 06:40 ET (10:40 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Grafico Indice FTSE 100
Da Mar 2024 a Apr 2024
Grafico Indice FTSE 100
Da Apr 2023 a Apr 2024