LONDON MARKET EARLY CALL: FTSE To Slump As Inflation Worries Persist

(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London are set to drop at the open on Wednesday, unable to get ...

Alliance News 24 February, 2021 | 6:57AM
Email Form Facebook Twitter LinkedIn RSS

(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London are set to drop at the open on Wednesday, unable to get a lift from soothing words from US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 index of large-caps to open 48.64 points lower, down 0.7%, at 6,577.30 on Wednesday. The FTSE index closed up 13.70 points, or 0.2%, at 6,625.94 on Tuesday.

"Wall Street was saved by a very dovish Jerome Powell overnight, whose testimony managed to reverse the aggressive sell-off that was sweeping US equity markets," said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst for Asia Pacific at Oanda.

US Fed Chair Powell Tuesday attempted to play down rising inflation concerns and pledged to keep benchmark lending rates low until jobs recover and prices have risen consistently.

The Covid-19 pandemic remains the key factor determining how quickly the world's largest economy can recover, but Powell said vaccine rollouts offer hope things can return to normal quickly and the Fed has the tools to deal with price increases.

Amid growing fears in markets that a quick recovery from the pandemic - fuelled by more government stimulus on top of nearly USD3 trillion last year - will lead to higher interest rates and hinder the ability of companies to borrow, Powell tried to reassure skittish investors during the first day of his semi-annual testimony before Congress.

He insisted that the Fed will keep rates at the current level near zero until the economy reaches "maximum employment and inflation has risen to 2% and is on track to moderately exceed 2% for some time".

Powell's testimony helped stocks in the US recover from their session lows on Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 0.1%, the S&P 500 closed up 0.1% and Nasdaq Composite finished 0.5% lower.

Fed Chair Powell's Congressional testimony continues on Wednesday.

Oanda's Halley added: "European stocks are unlikely to gain much of a Powell tailwind, given that his comments merely stopped the rot on Wall Street overnight. Further retreats in the short-term by global equities cannot be ruled out as markets remain fixated on inflation."

A surging pound is also likely to hold back the FTSE 100 on Wednesday. Sterling was quoted at USD1.4175 in the morning, higher than USD1.4103 at the London equities close on Tuesday and having crossed the USD1.42 mark briefly overnight.

The euro traded at USD1.2154 early Wednesday, soft on USD1.2160 late Tuesday. Against the yen, the dollar rose to JPY105.50 versus JPY105.11.

In Asia on Wednesday, the Japanese Nikkei 225 index closed down 1.6%. In China, the Shanghai Composite is down 1.8%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong is down 2.9%.  

Gold was quoted at USD1,808.31 an ounce early Wednesday, higher than USD1,803.05 on Tuesday. Brent oil was unchanged at USD65.07.

The economic events calendar on Wednesday has Germany GDP figures at 0700 GMT.

"The latest adjusted Q4 GDP number is expected to confirm that the economy just about avoided a possible double-dip with a 0.1% expansion, however that is likely to be cold comfort, given that the current quarter is likely to see another contraction," Michael Hewson at CMC Markets commented.

The UK corporate on Wednesday has annual results from household goods firm Reckitt Benckiser and from high street lender Lloyds Banking Group.

By Lucy Heming; lucyheming@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.

Email Form Facebook Twitter LinkedIn RSS

About Author

Alliance News

Alliance News provides Morningstar with continuously updating coverage of news affecting listed companies.

© Copyright 2024 Morningstar, Inc. All rights reserved.

Terms of Use        Privacy Policy        Modern Slavery Statement        Cookie Settings        Disclosures