London’s FTSE 100 ended slightly lower on Wednesday despite gains in travel, pharmaceutical and oil companies as economic data suggests rising inflation.
The FTSE 100 index edged down 0.2%, while the domestically focused mid-cap index lost 0.1%.
A nearly three-year high in crude prices had pushed up BP and Royal Dutch Shell and they helped push the index up from midday after a mixed start.
A preliminary reading of the HIS Markit / CIPS UK Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) highlighted one of the strongest monthly improvements in business activity since 1998.
All eyes are on the Bank of England meeting on Thursday as investors wait to hear the central bank’s stance on the price hike.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 ended a two-day winning streak and closed in the red on Wednesday as the market’s rally came to a halt. The broad benchmark of equities fell 0.1% to 4,241.84, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 71 points, or 0.2%, to 33,874. The Nasdaq Composite slightly outperformed its peers with a gain of 0.1% to 14,272.
Asian stocks opened mostly stably on Thursday after a mixed close in the US. Japan’s Nikkei traded little, while the Shanghai Composite was down 0.2%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng edged up 0.1%.
Indian indices opened in green Thursday, the weekly options expiration day, as investors await the annual meeting of Indian giant Reliance. BSE Sensex opened above 52,500 while the Nifty 50 regained 15,700.
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Source: www.independent.co.uk
This notice was published: 2021-06-24 06:24:59