Investment accounts
Adult accounts
Child accounts
Choosing Fidelity
Choosing Fidelity
Why invest with us Current offers Fees and charges Open an account Transfer investments
Financial advice & support
Fidelity’s Services
Fidelity’s Services
Financial advice Retirement Wealth Management Investor Centre (London) Bereavement
Guidance and tools
Guidance and tools
Choosing investments Choosing accounts ISA calculator Retirement calculators
Share dealing
Choose your shares
Tools and information
Tools and information
Share prices and markets Chart and compare shares Stock market news Shareholder perks
Pensions & retirement
Pensions, tax & tools
Saving for retirement
Approaching / In retirement
Approaching / In retirement
Speak to a specialist Creating a retirement plan Taking tax-free cash Pension drawdown Annuities Investing in retirement Investment Pathways
London open: Stocks slip heading into central bank decisions
(Sharecast News) - Stocks were mixed at the start of the session, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street on the back of the latest quarterly results out of Netflix and Tesla. "US futures are steady, but the markets across the pond remain highly sensitive - a dynamic made worse by sky-high valuations created by a year-to-date rally amid AI excitement," said Sophie Lund-Yates, lead equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.
"European markets are also set for a downbeat open as this weaker sentiment crosses their borders, and imminent economic data and corporate earnings reports have kicked up further tension."
As of 0900 BST, the FTSE 100 was drifting lower by 0.03% to 7,643.83 and the second-tier index by 0.28% to 19,256.82.
Sterling was flat alongside at 1.2870.
Weekly jobless data released the day before in the US had led to some 'market chatter' regarding the risk of more interest rate hikes than anticipated.
Worth noting, over the following week, rate-setters at the Bank of Japan, European Central Bank and Federal Reserve were all due to announce their latest policy decisions.
China's Politburo was expected by some to announce fresh policy stimulus on 28-30 July, although the extent of the same remained a matter of conjecture.
The latest economic data out on home shores came in mixed.
According to the National Office for Statistics, UK retail sales jumped in June at a month-on-month of 0.7% (consensus: 0.2%).
Non-food store sales did especially well, rising by 1.0% over the month thanks to higher than average temperatures.
Retail sales remained 1.0% below their pre-Covid level, but that was the smallest shortfall since September, said Gabriella Dickens, senior U.K. economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.
However, consultancy GfK's consumer confidence index slumped from a June reading of -25 to -30 in July (consensus: -25).
Public sector net borrowing printed at £18.5bn for June (consensus: £22.0bn).
But Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon, said: "Good news on recent levels of public borrowing will not be celebrated much at the Treasury, given that the outlook for debt interest payments has deteriorated substantially since the Budget."
HSBC in the market spotlight
HSBC was the focus of some 'market chatter' at the end of the week on the back of the shares' rise to four-year highs.
Liontrust Asset Management said that its its proposed offer for Swiss rival GAM was "full and final". The UK asset manager that its offer "good and fair", taking into account the current financial run rate of losses, future contractual liabilities and the restructuring costs needed to bring GAM back into the black.
Glencore reported a 4% decrease in own-sourced copper production in its first half on Friday, mainly due to mining sequences at Collahuasi and Antamina, and lower copper by-products outside the copper department. The FTSE 100 firm said cobalt production increased 5%, while nickel production saw a 20% decline. Ferrochrome production was 9% below the first half of 2022 due to planned smelter offline days, and coal production remained steady. Glencore maintained its full-year production guidance.
FirstGroup said in an update on Friday that its trading performance for the financial year-to-date was in line with the expectations it outlined in June. The FTSE 250 passenger transport operator also said it had completed £70.9m of its £75m on-market share buyback programme, launched last December, adding that on completion, it planned to initiate another buyback of up to £115m of shares, subject to approval at its annual general meeting being held later in the day.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,648.93 0.04% FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,263.79 -0.25% techMARK (TASX) 4,460.51 -0.20%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Ashtead Group (AHT) 5,582.00p 1.49% Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 922.40p 1.36% Entain (ENT) 1,274.50p 1.27% Relx plc (REL) 2,611.00p 1.24% 3i Group (III) 1,972.50p 1.15% Centrica (CNA) 127.00p 1.07% Bunzl (BNZL) 2,870.00p 0.74% Rentokil Initial (RTO) 635.00p 0.70% Weir Group (WEIR) 1,788.50p 0.65% Ocado Group (OCDO) 687.20p 0.64%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Prudential (PRU) 1,060.50p -1.39% SEGRO (SGRO) 779.60p -1.32% Flutter Entertainment (CDI) (FLTR) 15,220.00p -1.30% Rio Tinto (RIO) 5,127.00p -0.91% Abrdn (ABDN) 234.70p -0.84% NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 255.00p -0.74% Mondi (MNDI) 1,321.00p -0.71% GSK (GSK) 1,377.40p -0.71% Fresnillo (FRES) 620.80p -0.70% Land Securities Group (LAND) 657.20p -0.70%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Babcock International Group (BAB) 374.00p 3.43% Energean (ENOG) 1,135.00p 2.25% easyJet (EZJ) 483.20p 1.60% FirstGroup (FGP) 147.20p 1.31% Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 2,661.00p 1.06% Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 2,535.00p 1.00% Hays (HAS) 107.00p 0.94% Tate & Lyle (TATE) 753.50p 0.94% Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 604.00p 0.75% Redrow (RDW) 518.50p 0.68%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Senior (SNR) 165.00p -2.48% Allianz Technology Trust (ATT) 265.00p -2.21% CMC Markets (CMCX) 151.00p -1.95% CLS Holdings (CLI) 141.60p -1.94% Synthomer (SYNT) 79.05p -1.92% Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 205.00p -1.91% Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 196.20p -1.90% Derwent London (DLN) 2,218.00p -1.86% Trainline (TRN) 274.80p -1.86% Schroder Oriental Income Fund Ltd. (SOI) 248.00p -1.78%
Share this article
Related Sharecast Articles
Important information: This information is not a personal recommendation for any particular investment. If you are unsure about the suitability of an investment you should speak to one of Fidelity’s advisers or an authorised financial adviser of your choice. When you are thinking about investing in shares, it’s generally a good idea to consider holding them alongside other investments in a diversified portfolio of assets. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.
Award-winning online share dealing
Search, compare and select from thousands of shares.
Expert insights into investing your money
Our team of experts explore the world of share dealing.
Policies and important information
Accessibility | Conflicts of interest statement | Consumer Duty Target Market | Consumer Duty Value Assessment Statement | Cookie policy | Diversity and Inclusion | Doing Business with Fidelity | Fidelity gender pay report | Investing in Fidelity funds | Legal information | Modern slavery | Mutual respect policy | Privacy statement | Remuneration policy | Security | Statutory and Regulatory disclosures | Whistleblowing policy
Please remember that past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance, the performance of investments is not guaranteed, and the value of your investments can go down as well as up, so you may get back less than you invest. When investments have particular tax features, these will depend on your personal circumstances and tax rules may change in the future. This website does not contain any personal recommendations for a particular course of action, service or product. You should regularly review your investment objectives and choices and, if you are unsure whether an investment is suitable for you, you should contact an authorised financial adviser. Before opening an account, please read the ‘Doing Business with Fidelity’ document which incorporates our client terms. Prior to investing into a fund, please read the relevant key information document which contains important information about the fund.
This website is issued by Financial Administration Services Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) (FCA Register number 122169) and registered in England and Wales under company number 1629709 whose registered address is Beech Gate, Millfield Lane, Lower Kingswood, Tadworth, Surrey, KT20 6RP.