U.K. stocks were little changed on Thursday as investors weighed up a slowing of growth in China and mulled dovish comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
The British pound dropped against the dollar after Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey told BusinessLive he won’t be rushed into making decisions on raising interest rates, despite rising inflation pressures.
The benchmark FTSE 100 was marginally lower at 7,089 after declining half a percent on Wednesday.
BP Plc lost 2.2 percent and Royal Dutch Shell gave up 1.5 percent as oil extended overnight losses amid news that oil producers came to a compromise about supply. Oil prices were also pressured by data showing a drop in U.S. gasoline demand.
Cybersecurity firm Avast jumped 14.3 percent after the company confirmed it was in advanced merger talks with US peer NortonLifeLock.
Credit data firm Experian gained 5 percent after raising its full-year guidance.
Just Eat Takeaway.com tumbled 3.3 percent. The online food ordering company said that adjusted EBITDA losses, mainly caused by U.S. and Canadian fee caps, and the investment program, have now peaked.
In economic releases, the U.K. employment increased in three months to May signaling that the labor market continues to recover.
There was a quarterly increase in the employment rate of 0.1 percentage points to 74.8 percent, the Office for National Statistics said.
At the same time, the ILO unemployment rate decreased 0.2 percentage points to 4.8 percent. In three months to April, the jobless rate was 4.7 percent.
Market Analysis
FTSE 100 Little Changed In Choppy Trade
2021-07-15 09:47:10
