Nervousness over key interest rate decisions from the Bank of England and the US Federal Reserve kept major European markets lower on Wednesday.
In London, retail stocks suffered ahead of the Bank of England’s latest inflation forecasts, while cabinet ministers also said shoppers should look to buy value products to manage their family finances amid rising cost of living.
The FTSE 100 ended the day down 67.88 points, or 0.9%, at 7,493.45 points.
Across the Channel, the situation was similar as EU investors also digested the trade bloc’s plan to ban Russian oil exports.
It’s not hard to figure out why stocks are falling this afternoon.
Chris Beauchamp, IG
The French Cac was down 1.24% and the German Dax was down 0.49% at the end of the session.
“It’s not hard to figure out why stocks are falling this afternoon,” said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG.
“The Fed’s rate-hike move could be priced broadly, but markets are clearly nervous that an even more aggressive Federal Open Market Committee could spark a spike in volatility that could push indices below lows. from last week.
“Those concerns about a recession will not be helped by new oil gains today.”
On Wall Street, major US markets opened mixed after the latest monthly employment data fell short of expectations.
Meanwhile, the British pound was buoyant ahead of the expected rise in interest rates.
The pound fell 0.1% against the dollar to 1.248 and fell 0.03% against the euro to 1.185.
In company news, Paddy Power owner Flutter Entertainment has moved to the top of the FTSE 100 after it said the cost of living crisis is not driving customers away from gambling as growth continued growth in the US drove revenue higher.
It came despite the group revealing that UK and Ireland Q1 online revenue fell 20% compared to a year earlier when the UK and Ireland were in lockdown.
Shares of the company finished 426 pence higher at 8,716 pence.
Boohoo’s value plummeted after the online firm revealed profits plummeted and costs soared as it struggled to cope with difficulties caused by the pandemic.
Bosses said pre-tax profit for the 12 months to the end of February slumped to £7.8m from £124.7m a year earlier as distribution costs rose and customer demand fell.
As a result, Boohoo shares were down 9.92 pence to 70.08 pence at the close of the game.
Shares of fashion brand Joules fell again as investors swallowed a double whammy from its chief executive, Nick Jones, resigning and a profit warning after a recent slowdown in sales.
It closed 13.75p below Wednesday’s 41.25p.
Oil prices soared after the EU said it sought to implement Russia’s oil ban “in an orderly manner,” helping BP and Shell shares gain.
Brent crude rose 3.47% to US$108.61 a barrel as London markets closed.
The biggest risers in the FTSE 100 were Flutter Entertainment, up from 426p to 8716p, Intertek, up from 76p to 5078p, DCC, up from 78p to 6246p, Aveva, up from 23p to 2187p, and Croda, an increase from 64p to 7504p.
The biggest losers of the day were Kingfisher, down 12.7p to 241.6p, JD Sports, down 6.35p to 128.5p, Dechra Pharma, down 162p to 3,364p, Avast, down 23.2p to 508.4p, and Intermediate Capital Group, fell 59.5p to 1,464p.
Reference-www.independent.co.uk