Wednesday Jan 31 2024 05:58
4 min
UK stock indices saw gains on Tuesday, buoyed by positive earnings reports and indications of diminishing inflationary pressures, with WPP leading the advances alongside signs of cooling price increases.
By 14:00 GMT, the international-heavy FTSE 100 stock index had risen by 0.6%, while the more domestically-oriented FTSE 250 had gone up by 0.2%. Both indices approached three-week highs.
Advertising giant WPP surged 4.6%, at one point topping the FTSE 100, after an announcement that its 2023 operating profit margin was expected to reach the upper limit of its prior forecasts.
According to the British Retail Consortium, this month saw the slowest yearly increase in shop prices since May 2022, contributing to evidence of waning inflationary pressures ahead of the Bank of England's (BoE) policy announcement later this week.
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The BoE is anticipated to maintain interest rates steady on Thursday, with predictions divided over whether the central bank will begin reducing borrowing costs in the next quarter or during the July-September period, as per a Reuters survey.
As noted by Markets.com Chief Markets Analyst Neil Wilson in his week-ahead preview on Friday, markets are currently expecting that the Bank of England is in “no rush to cut”, meaning the focus will be on officials’ commentary after the meeting:
“The Bank of England is expected to keep rates on hold but investors are watching for a change in messaging from the Monetary Policy Committee. Markets have dialled back expectations for rate cuts in 2024 to around 100bps from 150bps amid some pretty tough talk from the Old Lady. The UK’s services sector moved further into growth in January, reducing pressure on the BoE to cut and suggesting the pessimistic consensus for the UK economy may be too gloomy. It also talked up pricing pressures from the disruption in the Red Sea. CPI inflation rose to 4.0% in December from 3.9%, underscoring the sense that the BoE won’t be in a rush to cut”.
The indices also benefited from a record closing of New York's S&P 500 index on Monday, setting a positive tone ahead of this week's major corporate earnings, economic reports, and the Federal Reserve policy meeting.
SSP Group saw a 3.1% uptick after the airport and train station food outlet operator reported a sales increase of over 14% in its first quarter.
The Rolls-Royce share price also climbed by 1.9%, reaching 309.80p.
3i Group shares were up 2.18%, at one point topping the FTSE 100 risers, after Barclays raised its price target on the stock by 14% to 2,810p.
The Diageo share price slumped by 3.4% on Monday, marking the sharpest fall in the FTSE 100, after the leading spirits manufacturer fell short of first-half sales expectations, with a significant downturn in Latin America impacting its overall results. On Tuesday, the stock attempted a recovery and was last trading up 1.53% at 2,885.00p.
Deliveroo also fell by 5.3% following the German-based Delivery Hero's disposal of its 4.5% share in the UK meal delivery company through an accelerated bookbuild offering. At the time of writing on Tuesday, Deliveroo shares on the LSE were trading at 119.60p, down 1.89%.
When considering shares and indices for trading and price predictions, remember that trading CFDs involves a significant degree of risk and could result in capital loss.
Past performance is not indicative of any future results. This information is provided for informative purposes only and should not be construed to be investment advice.
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