Yahoo Finance FTSE higher as Spring budget 2024 date confirmed but Wall Street flat
European stocks and FTSE 100 finished mostly higher on Wednesday as chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced the date for the Spring budget but in Wall Street stocks were little changed.
The FTSE 100 (^FTSE) rose 0.2% to close at 7,715 points during afternoon trading, while the CAC 40 (^FCHI) in Paris finished flat at 7,565 points. In Germany, the DAX (^GDAXI) gained 0.1% to 16,722. Europe’s Stoxx 600 (^STOXX) advanced 0.1% after a flat start.
"Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has commissioned the Office for Budget Responsibility to prepare an economic and fiscal forecast to be presented to Parliament alongside his Spring budget on 6 March 2024," the Treasury said.
This should be the final budget before the next election, which must take place by January 2025.
Read more: FTSE top trending tickers of 2023
Across the pond, US stocks were largely unchanged amid a shortened week of trading as few major catalysts drove the market action.
The Dow Jones (^DJI) rose 0.1% to 37,579 points. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) gained 0.1% to 4,772 points - nearing an all-time high record close of 4,796 - and the tech-heavy NASDAQ (^IXIC) hovered just below the flatline at 15,060.
Trading volumes are expected to be thin during the last three days of the trading year, with fewer data points on the economic calendar and all major central bank meetings out of the way.
In Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 (^N225) gained 1.1% to 33,681 points, while the Hang Seng (^HSI) in Hong Kong rose 1.75% to 16,625 points. The Shanghai Composite (000001.SS) climbed 0.6% to 2,914 points.
Chinese online gaming stocks rose in Hong Kong trading after Beijing’s top gaming regulator said it would “carefully study” the concerns of all stakeholders on draft rules aimed at curbing excessive gaming and spending.
Read more: Trending tickers: Intel | Tencent | RayzeBio | Astrazeneca
The pound’s (GBPUSD=X) was stronger against the dollar, with sterling trading at $1.2800. The sterling (GBPEUR=X) was lower against the euro, trading at €1.1506.
Meanwhile, Brent crude (BZ=F) slipped but is still trading at over $80/barrel amid investor jitters amid attacks in the Red Sea and escalating tensions in the Middle East.
Watch: Investors will face choppy trading in 2024: Strategist
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