Yahoo Finance FTSE 100 Live: GDP beats expectations, blue-chip index near record
A surprise rise in GDP for November today boosted hopes that the UK can still avoid a slide into recession.
A World Cup trading boost for pubs and bars helped the economy to edge up by 0.1% in the month, compared with City forecasts for a 0.2% decline.
The improvement comes with the FTSE 100 index within sight of its record high after yesterday’s latest fall in the annual rate of US inflation boosted confidence.
FTSE 100 Live Friday
FTSE 100 near record high
GDP beats hopes after World Cup boost
Tesla slashes vehicle prices in Europe
That’s all folks. Next week: Ashmore and Rio Tinto
Friday 13 January 2023 17:56 , Simon Hunt
That concludes our liveblog coverage today, on the day the FTSE took get another step closer to reaching an all-time high, adding to hopes it could reach the milestone before the end of next week.
The Evening Standard City desk will be back at 7am on Monday, where we’ll have results from investment group Ashmore and stockmarket staple, mining giant Rio Tinto.
Bitcoin rallies throughout January
Friday 13 January 2023 17:07 , Simon Hunt
Bitcoin gained another $286 today, adding to the roughly $2,500 it has rallied since the start of the year, in signs the currency may be beginning to stabilise after the crypto industry took a beating in the second half of next year.
But the gains so far in January pale in comparison to the roughly $23,000 lost from the price of the Bitcoin since this time a year ago, while a number of major crypto firms including Coinbase and Blockchain.com continue to make redundancies.
Craig Erlam, Senior Market Analyst atOANDA, said: “In reality, crypto fans are probably happy to see it steadying and drifting into the background as the industry recovers from the trauma of the FTX collapse.
“It’s weak and vulnerable at the minute and any more shocks could be extremely damaging.”
FTSE 100 closes up 55 points
Friday 13 January 2023 16:35 , Simon Hunt
The FTSE 100 closed up 54 points to 7,848 as it took another step closer to reaching an all-time high.
That leaves it within a nudge of the 7903 record hit on May 22 2018, long before the emergence of Covid.
After a gloomy week weather wise, the sun shone as trading began in the Square Mile and investors basked in GDP figures that were dramatically better than expected.
UK GDP rose 0.1% in November – economists had predicted a 0.3% slump.
Even those figures aside, market sentiment has been positive for weeks, going back to the World Cup.
New York stocks slip as updates from major banks hit the mood
Friday 13 January 2023 14:45 , Michael Hunter
Wall Street’s S&P 500 fell in early Friday trade after updates from the banking sector knocked sentient and stoked concerns about a looming economic downturn in the US.
The broad New York index fell 0.9% to 3949.43 after JP Morgan set aside $1.4 billion to handle the impact of a slowing economy while Bank of America’s fees from investment banking more than halved.
Boost for UK names as FTSE 100 closes in on new record in £350 billion rebound
Friday 13 January 2023 14:18 , Michael Hunter
London’s FTSE 100 is trading around a record high, with the bullish mood helped by growing hopes that the UK economy is proving more resilient than feared.
Around £350 billion has been added to the value of shares on the top index since its lowpoint last October, helped most recently by a run of strong trading updates from the high street.
The top two performers in the rebound are both well-known at home, standing out in a market that is also home to a host of multi-national companies.
Ocado, the online grocer and e-commerce tech provider, is up by the most since October’s trough, gaining over 90%. JD Sports is up almost 78% over the same period.
Wall Street stocks set to fall after updates from big-name banks
Friday 13 January 2023 14:14 , Michael Hunter
New York’s S&P 500 was expected to fall on Friday, with trading updates from big-name financial stocks in focus ahead of the opening bell.
The broad Wall Stree stock gauge was on course to drop by around 1% to 3966.50 with shares in JP Morgan and Bank of America also expected to retreat.
JPMorgan earmarked $1.4 billion to help it cope with an economic slowdown, and in pre-market trade its stock was marked down by around 3%. Bank of America’s fees from investment banking fell by more than half and its shares were down by a similar margin into the start of full trade.
FTSE 100 midday movers: Rolls-Royce takes off as London index flies near a record high
Friday 13 January 2023 12:27 , Michael Hunter
Rolls-Royce is no stranger to appearing high on City pundits tip lists as the return of air travel boosts revenue at the Derby-based company paid for the number of hours jets use its engines to fly. Upbeat numbers from US airline Delta have been the latest to impress.
Today, Rolls has made it to the top of the FTSE 100 leaderboard, amid a wider bullish feel to trade with the main London index heading for an all-time high.
At the other end of the market, dollar earners are among the companies taking the biggest hit, after the US currency’s recent slide in line with the outlook for softer rate rises from the Federal Reserve.
Crypto.com becomes latest cryptocurrency firm to announce layoffs
Friday 13 January 2023 10:58 , Simon Hunt
Crypto.com has become the fourth major cryptocurrency firm to begin a fresh wave of layoffs this week after firing 20% of staff.
The Singapore-based business is believed to have axed as many as 900 employees, which it blamed on its “trajectory [having] changed rapidly with a confluence of negative economic developments.”
It’s the second major round of redundancies by the crypto exchange after it let go of over 250 staff in July last year.
Crypto.com co-founder and CEO Kris Marszalek said: “The reductions we made last July positioned us to weather the macroeconomic downturn, but it did not account for the recent collapse of FTX, which significantly damaged trust in the industry.
“It’s for this reason…we made the difficult but necessary decision to make additional reductions in order to position the company for long-term success.”
Over 2,000 jobs have been wiped from the crypto industry in the past week alone as firms streamline operations to escape insolvency amid plummeting prices of digital assets.
Earlier this week, crypto exchange Coinbase said it was letting go of around 950 staff, while yesterday, UK-founded brokerage blockchain.com cut almost a third of its workforce.
Airline stocks continue progress, M&S shares higher
Friday 13 January 2023 10:23 , Graeme Evans
Airline stocks continued their recent momentum today after a City bank forecast a further traffic and pricing recovery during 2023.
UBS said the European airlines in its coverage should all be profitable across this year as pent-up demand is expected to drive summer and business travel. It points out that the current inflation backdrop means consumers are more likely to accept fare increases, adding that the falling oil price was another positive.
The upbeat note from UBS helped sustain investor interest in a stock market sector that has been the slowest to recover from Covid disruption.
There have been plenty of false dawns over the past two years, but the direction of travel since mid-October has been encouraging after a doubling in value for low-cost carrier Wizz Air and a gain of two-thirds for British Airways owner IAG.
Sentiment also received a major boost last week, when Ryanair lifted annual profits guidance following strong demand over the festive season.
Wizz shares today added another 4% in the FTSE 250, lifting 107p to 2879p, after analysts at Davy swung behind the carrier with an “outperform” rating.
Luton-based rival easyjet also improved 11.1p to 429.3p, while IAG was marked 4p higher at 156.9p in the FTSE 100 index. And hopes for a recovery in flying hours ensured that Rolls-Royce shares kept up their recent rebound by adding 3.3p to 107.3p.
Other big blue-chip risers included NatWest, British Gas owner Centrica and investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown as London’s FTSE 100 index moved to around 70 points off a new record by adding 36.14 points to 7830.18.
The UK-focused FTSE 250 index, which has struggled in comparison to the FTSE 100, rose 74.68 points to 19,915.81 as investors swept up retail stocks in the wake of this week’s encouraging updates.
ASOS led the risers board by adding another 49.5p to 758p, while Marks & Spencer gained 5p to trade above 150p for the first time since last spring.
The mood wasn’t entirely positive, however, as shares in Bulmers drinks business C&C fell 10% or 18.2p to 165.6p. The slide came after it blamed cost-of-living pressures and the impact of December rail strikes for a downgrade to profits guidance.
City buoyant as FTSE 100 heads near all-time high
Friday 13 January 2023 10:14 , Simon English
THE LONDON stock market was edging smartly closer to an all-time high today as the City embraced a spirit of optimism for the New Year.
After a gloomy week weather wise, the sun shone as trading began in the Square Mile and investors basked in GDP figures that were dramatically better than expected.
UK GDP rose 0.1% in November – economists had predicted a 0.3% slump.
Even those figures aside, market sentiment has been positive for weeks, going back to the World Cup.
The FTSE 100, the leading and most closely watched index, was up 36 points to 7830. That leaves it within a nudge of the 7903 all time high hit on May 22 2018, long before the emergence of Covid.
Since the start of the year the FTSE 100 has added about £100 billion worth to the value of the UK’s biggest companies.
On 13th October last year the FTSE traded down to 6707, the lowest since March 2021. It is up 1150 points since then, which equates to a £312 billion addition to the market including the pension funds that were so battered by Liz Truss’s mini-budget.
James Hughes at Scope Markets said: “The FTSE-100 has added almost £100 billion since the start of the year, underlining that the outlook for UK plc may not be quite as downbeat as had been feared.”
While there remain concerns, not least looming bank job cuts, ongoing inflation and rising interest rates, for the moment the City mood is buoyant.
Hughes adds: “Those better than expected GDP numbers for November have been the icing on the cake here, although if this paves the way for more Band of England rate hikes, the upside could be short lived.”
How America trades this afternoon once Wall Street opens for business could be key to whether the FTSE does soar past old highs today or early next week.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: “A decent showing on Wall Street last night following news that US consumer prices dropped in December helped to lift investor sentiment in Asia and Europe on Friday. Investors are desperate for inflation to ease back so that central banks no longer have a reason to keep putting up interest rates.”
Neil Wilson at markets.com said: “The index would only have to rise another 0.8% to beat its intraday all-time high. Smashing through this level would give overseas investors another reason to start looking more seriously at UK stocks.”
He added: “After the Brexit vote, UK stocks were off the menu for many international investors and valuations plummeted. Last year was a big turning point whereby the UK was one of the few major markets around the world not to see a big slump. Now if the FTSE 100 breaks a new record, it’s another trophy in the cabinet for the UK and a reason to shout from the hilltops that the market is not as dull as people think.”
Tesla slashes vehicle prices. Some existing owners aren’t happy
Friday 13 January 2023 09:03 , Simon Hunt
Tesla has begun slashing the prices of its electric vehicles in Europe and the US in a bid drive up sales amid dwindling consumer demand, sparking fury from existing owners.
Prices of the carmakers Model 3 Performance vehicle were cut by 14.3% in the US, according figures from Reuters, while the price of the Model Y Rear Wheel Drive vehicle was reduced by 16.8% in Germany.
The cuts have prompted a backlash from some owners of the cars, with Tesla drivers posting in online forums that they felt short-changed by having to fork out thousands of euros more for the same vehicles because they bought them before the discounts. Earlier this week, owners protested outside delivery centres in China demanding compensation for the higher prices they paid, after the carmaker cut prices in the territory by up to 13.5% earlier this month.
Tesla told Reuters it had no plans for issuing compensation.
FTSE 100 makes further progress, C&C shares down 10%
Friday 13 January 2023 08:32 , Graeme Evans
The FTSE 100 index has made stronger-than-expected progress as the top flight closes in on an all-time high.
London’s blue-chip index rose 45.30 points to 7839, with British Airways owner IAG and London Stock Exchange among the stocks up by around 2%.
The start of Wall Street’s fourth quarter earnings season, with figures due this afternoon from leading banks including Citi and JPMorgan Chase, will test confidence later.
In today’s session, Taylor Wimpey shares were flat at 112p after its trading update showed much lower sales alongside a plan to make £20 million of cost savings.
Bulmers drinks business C&C fell the most in the FTSE 250 after it downgraded profit expectations for the year. Shares slid 10% or 18.1p to 165.7p.
FTSE 100 seen higher, keeps record in view
Friday 13 January 2023 07:53 , Graeme Evans
The FTSE 100 is expected to remain within sight of its all-time high after CMC Markets forecast a positive start for European markets today.
London’s record intraday level of 7903 was set in May 2018, with the best closing level being 7877 the same month. CMC expects the top flight to open 12 points higher at 7806.
The FTSE 100 is currently at a four-year high, having risen by 4.5% since the start of the year amid strong gains for retailers and housebuilders and after the reopening of China’s economy boosted commodity stocks.
Shares were given a further lift yesterday when figures from the US economy suggested the Federal Reserve is finally winning the battle against inflation.
The US consumer price index, which peaked at 9.1% in June, fell for the sixth month in a row in December and now stands at 6.5%.
However, that is still significantly higher than the Fed’s 2% target and economists expect a further interest rate rise of at least 0.25% at the central bank’s February meeting.
GDP beats expectations after World Cup boost
Friday 13 January 2023 07:37 , Graeme Evans
GDP edged up 0.1% in November after the services sector expanded by 0.2% on the back of a World Cup boost for pubs and bars during the month.
The overall performance beat City expectations for a 0.2% decline and kept alive hopes that the UK can avoid a recession, which is determined by two consecutive quarters of contraction.
GDP declined in the three months to September and the quarter-on-quarter performance in November showed a 0.3% fall.
A strong run of retail updates means a resilient performance during December is still a possibility, although much will depend on how industrial action has impacted output in the month.
Jonathan Moyes, head of investment research at Wealth Club, said: “It may be too soon to mark the beginning of a turn in sentiment for the UK, but a quiet consensus appears to be forming.
“Energy prices are falling sharply, China is reopening and interest rate expectations have eased significantly.”
Today’s figures from the Office for National Statistics for November showed manufacturing output declined by 0.5% in the month, while construction was flat.
Taylor Wimpey warns of ‘significantly lower’ sales, announces cuts to save £20 million a year
Friday 13 January 2023 07:35 , Michael Hunter
Taylor Wimpey has become the latest housebuilder to warn on the impact in the mortgage market which followed the “mini”-Budget last year, although it has stood by its annual profit guidance.
The FTSE 100 company pointed to “ongoing market uncertainty” and said that “sales remain significantly below levels seen prior to the rise in mortgage rates in Q3 2022.” It means the company expects sell fewer new in the year ahead, with “overall volumes expected to decline in 2023.
It has started consultations on what it called “proposed changes” to save around £20 million in costs a year, cuts it expects to cost around £8 million.
The number of new homes it completed fell to 14,154 from 14,302 and its average private UK selling price rose 6% to £325,000.
But it stood by its exiting profit guidance for the full-year, of £921 million when it reports its full results in early March.
Jennie Daly, CEO, said: “We have acted quickly and decisively to address changing market conditions and continue our efforts to maximise efficiency .. Despite near term uncertainty we remain confident that the medium to long term fundamentals of our business remain highly attractive.”
ITV sounds upbeat note about new streaming service
Friday 13 January 2023 07:34 , Simon Hunt
ITV sounded an upbeat note about its new streaming service ITVX this morning, a month after its launch.
The broadcast business said it delivered a 55% increase in ITV’s streaming hours in the first month after its launch (8 December 2022 – 7 January 2023) compared to the same period last year, while ITV’s online users increased by 65%. That increase drops down to 29% when you exclude people viewing World Cup fixtures.
Carolyn McCall, ITV CEO, said: “It is great to see so many new viewers coming into ITVX. Viewers have welcomed our strong slate of commissioned launch titles exclusive to ITVX, with many viewers coming from harder to reach audiences.
“ITVX has also landed really well with advertisers who see the increased value of the scale and reach of the audience they can now target in a high quality, brand safe and measurable streaming environment.”
