While the market’s mood slightly improved, the European indices remained in the red as they processed the outcome of the US-China trade talks.
Managing to cut its losses from 0.8% to 0.2%, the FTSE found itself just about nudging back above 6900. This as the pound looked increasingly nervy, likely for Brexit-related reasons, shedding 0.5% against the dollar and 0.3% against the euro.
The UK retail sector’s ‘Super Thursday’ largely proved to be a sarcastic moniker. The two worst hit were Halfords (LON:HFD), which lost more than a fifth of its value after issuing a profit warning, and Card Factory (LON:CARDC), that purveyor of a dying art plunging 12% as it predicted ‘another difficult year’. Marks & Spencer, meanwhile, avoided a serious drop despite a pretty horrendous set of festive figures.
However, it wasn’t all bad. Tesco (LON:TSCO) rose 1% after it handily beat analysts’ estimates for its Christmas performance, and DFS Furniture (LON:DFSD) climbed 3.5% as underlying gross sales surged 10% for the 5 month period to the end of December.
Over in the eurozone the DAX faired a lot better than the CAC. While the German index reduces its losses to 0.4%, its French counterpart was stuck with a 0.9% drop, unable to ease things due to a nasty industrial production figure.
As for the US open, the Dow Jones has a 140 point fall to look forward to after the bell, the index all set to join in with the disappointed trading.
Disclaimer: Spreadex provides an execution only service and the comments above do not constitute (or should not be construed as constituting) investment advice or recommendations, or a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. Any person placing trades based on their interpretations of the above comments does so entirely at their own risk. Spreadex Ltd is a financial and sports spread betting and sports fixed odds betting firm, which specialises in the personal service and credit area. Founded in 1999, Spreadex is recognised as one of the longest established spread betting firms in the industry with a strong reputation for its high level of customer service and account management.
In relation to spread betting, Spreadex Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Spread betting carries a high level of risk to your capital and can result in losses larger than your initial stake/deposit. It may not be suitable for everyone, so please ensure you fully understand the risks involved.