Though it couldn’t completely shake off its losses, the FTSE was in better shape than immediately after the bell.
Slipping 20 or so points, less than half of its opening decline, the UK index lifted off its 2-week lows as it crept back towards 7450. With Brent Crude breaching $75 per barrel thanks to a 0.8% increase, BP (LON:BP) and Shell (LON:RDSa) were crucially able to shift away from their own 3-week nadirs; the former is now down just 0.3%, with the latter actually rising by the same amount.
As for Sainsbury's (LON:SBRY), while it was still struggling following the CMA’s decision to block its tie-up with Asda, its 4.5% decline was nevertheless better than the 6% plunge seen after the news broke.
Following yesterday’s 7-ish month high-hitting surge, the DAX was pretty quiet on Thursday, dipping back under 12300 as it shed a handful of points. The CAC, meanwhile, was just about lurking above 5500 as it fell 0.2%.
The tone of trading could change this afternoon, if the Dow Jones’ projected slump infects the European markets. The US index is facing a 170 point slide when the bell rings on Wall Street, the main issue being a disastrous update from Post-It producer 3M (NYSE:MMM), which severely missed Q1 estimates, slashed its full-year forecasts and announced plans to cut 2000 jobs worldwide.
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