17:19 24/01/24
|
|
London markets ended on a strong note on Wednesday, led by gains in the mining sector following China's announcement of a cut in bank reserve requirements.
of FTSE100 It rose 0.56% to close at 7,527.67 points. FTSE250 It recorded a significant increase of 0.94% to end the day at 19,171.68.
On the foreign exchange market, the pound rose 0.45% against the dollar to trade at $1.2744, and against the euro it rose 0.04% to trade at 1.1695 euros.
“The preliminary Eurozone PMI results for January were disappointing, but did not derail the rally in European stock indexes,” he said. “In particular, US private sector activity growth hit a seven-month high and Netflix “This is because the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 have hit record highs due to strong profits.” I.G. Axel Rudolph, Senior Market Analyst.
“The UK's fastest production growth since June last year was offset by weaker-than-expected factory orders.”
Rudolph said China-dependent luxury goods and mining stocks nonetheless supported the FTSE 100's rise on talk of a new Chinese stimulus package and rising iron ore prices.
“Oil prices continued to rise, but gold prices fell even as the US dollar weakened.”
Mixed pictures of UK services and paint manufacturing
In economic news, the situation in UK services and manufacturing was mixed.
The latest survey revealed that the service sector improved in January. S&P Global The flash composite Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to 52.5, the highest level in seven months, beating economists' expectations of 52.2.
However, the manufacturing industry was negatively affected by the Red Sea crisis, and the manufacturing PMI index rose to 47.3 in January, remaining in contraction territory.
The Red Sea crisis has had far-reaching effects, driving up transportation costs and extending supplier delivery times for the first time in 12 months.
In the industrial sector, production decreased, particularly in subsectors such as chemicals, automobiles, transportation equipment, metal products, and building materials.
Although production was expected to increase slightly over the next three months, both exports and domestic orders are expected to decline significantly, and new orders are expected to stagnate.
Chris Williamson, chief business economist, said: “Early PMI survey data shows that growth in business activity in the UK accelerated for the third month in a row in January, marking a bright start to the year.” S&P Global Market Intelligence.
“Survey data shows the economy grew at a quarterly rate of 0.2% after a flat fourth quarter, avoiding recession and showing signs of renewed momentum.
“Businesses also became more optimistic about the year ahead, with confidence returning to its highest level since May last year.”
Meanwhile, business activity in the euro area showed signs of improvement, with the slowest rate of decline in six months, and the preliminary Composite PMI stood at 47.9, although it still shows contraction.
The service sector's output was at 48.4, the lowest level in three months, while the manufacturing industry's output was at 46.6, the highest level in nine months.
Meanwhile, growth forecasts for Germany have been revised downward. Economic Research Institute (Ifo) cited the government's spending reduction plans.
The new forecast calls for GDP growth to reach 0.7% this year, a downward revision from the previous forecast of 0.9% in December.
In addition, China's central bank announced plans to lower the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) for all banks by 50 basis points to 10% from February 5, and to allocate 1 trillion yuan to stimulate the economy.
This will be the third RRR cut after two cuts last year, as the central bank also pledged to cut key interest rates by 25 basis points this week in a bid to boost economic activity.
“We support our call for a reduction in the one-year loan prime rate in the first quarter, but this will depend on January and February credit data and on credit demand and government bond issuance outside of policy-sensitive sectors. It depends on what that shows,” Duncan Wrigley said. pantheon macroeconomics.
“Pang's comments confirm that Chinese policymakers see the role of monetary policy this year primarily as supporting fiscal stimulus aimed at sustaining growth.”
Miners jump on China news, Haleon slips
On the London stock market, heavily weighted mining companies soared on positive news from China.
anglo american Although it increased by 5.25%, glencore Increased by 2.97%, antofagasta and rio tinto also recorded increases of 5.32% and 1.55%, respectively.
Companies focused on Asia prudential and standard chartered It also rose, with increases of 1.39% and 0.49%.
Precious metal mining companies showed strong performance, endeavor mining, Fresnillo, centaminand hochschild mining They recorded increases of 4.36%, 4.22%, 5.16%, and 7.55%, respectively.
low cost airlines easyjet It rose 2.4% despite taking a £40m hit from the Middle East conflict.
The company expected losses to narrow in the first half and reported positive booking momentum heading into the summer.
The company's pre-tax loss for the three months ended December 31 was £126m, down from £133m in the same period last year, while sales rose 16% to £1.1bn.
comprehensive energy company Shares rebounded to rise 8.86% after falling recently after activist investor Snowcap Research expressed concerns about funding to plug idle wells and potentially cutting dividends.
royal mail parent international distribution services (IDS) rose 4.26% following Ofcom's calls for a review of the UK postal service, including the possibility of reducing deliveries to three days a week.
asset manager abdon reversed previous losses and rose 1.57% after announcing cost-cutting plans aimed at saving £150m by the end of 2025.
It also reported net outflows of more than £12 million in the second half.
As a disadvantage, Haleon 2.5% decrease JP Morgan Cazenove Despite strong sales over the past two years, the company said it expects top-line results to be disappointing.
pub operator JD Weatherspoon Despite maintaining its full-year outlook and reporting an increase in underlying sales in the first half, it declined by 1.31%.
Senior The downgrade from “overweight” to “equal weight” resulted in a decrease of 6.67%. barclaysmeanwhile Greggs down 2.02% after initiating “hold” by Numisnoted that growth is already factored into the company's outlook.
Report by Josh White of Sharecast.com.
market mover
FTSE100 (UK X) 7,527.67 0.56%
FTSE250(MCX) 19,171.68 0.94%
Techmark (TASX) 4,360.35 0.52%
FTSE 100 – Riser
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,682.00p 5.32%
Endeavor Mining (EDV) 1,437.00 pence 4.36%
Fresnillo (FRES) 501.20p 4.22%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,864.00p 3.98%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,290.50p 3.70%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 153.50p 3.68%
Glencore (GLEN) 417.10p 2.95%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 255.80p 2.61%
Flutter Entertainment (CDI) (FLTR) 15,890.00p 2.52%
St. James Place (STJ) 676.00p 2.49%
FTSE 100 – Falls
Haleon (HLN) 313.35p -2.50%
Smith & Neff (SN.) 1,080.50p -2.48%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 393.10p -2.29%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 42.16p -2.10%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 240.60p -1.80%
Entain (ENT) 975.20p -0.81%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,516.00 pence -0.79%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 9,070.00p -0.72%
Spirax Sarco Engineering (SPX) 9,680.00p -0.70%
Bunzul (BNZL) 3,157.00 pence -0.66%
FTSE 250 – Riser
Integrated Energy Company (DEC) 942.50p 11.54%
Tallow oil (TLW) 33.44p 10.73%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 97.10p 7.55%
AJ Bell (AJB) 314.80p 5.99%
Puretech Health (PRTC) 200.00 pence 5.26%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 97.85p 5.16%
International Distribution Service (IDS) 274.70p 5.08%
Trustpilot Group (TRST) 178.60p 5.00%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 2,030.00 pence 4.64%
Felexpo (FXPO) 87.00 pence 4.38%
FTSE 250 – Falls
Senior (SNR) 160.00p -6.67%
Close Brothers Group (CBG) 578.00p -2.99%
TBC Bank Group (TBCG) 2,790.00 pence -2.45%
Greggs (GRG) 2,642.00 pence -2.00%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 259.40p -1.89%
Dr. Martens (DOCS) 75.35p -1.70%
BH Macro Ltd. GBP Stock (BHMG) 362.00p -1.64%
Swiss Group (WOSG) watches 383.00p -1.59%
North Atlantic Small Business Investment Trust (NAS) 3,690.00 pence -1.58%
Weatherspoon (JD) (JDW) 830.00p -1.31%