Yahoo Finance FTSE 100: traders back big oil in troubled waters
Traders today bet that old-fashioned energy stocks, the much derided “Big Oil”, might do well as green concerns are overtaken by economic pressures.
Political turmoil might also lead to environmental issues taking a back seat, at least for a while.
There was a sort of Boris-bounce yesterday as markets seemed to embrace the PM’s resignation. That wasn’t repeated today, but the City did at least hang on to the gains after a decent showing on Wall Street yesterday and in Asian markets overnight.
Meanwhile, US jobs data has cemented market expectations of a 75 basis point rise by the Federal Reserve.
FTSE 100 Live Friday
Oil price steady at $104 a barrel, down from $120 a few months ago
FTSE 100 down very slightly, off 2 points at 7186
A key US jobs report influence shows recession concerns aren’t impacting hiring decisions
US labour data puts pressure on Fed rate rise
15:00 , Simon Hunt
Jobs data released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics have cemented market expectations of a 75 basis point rise by the US Federal Reserve later in July.
The release, which showed the US economy added 372,000 jobs in June, triggered a 10 basis points increase in the US 2 year yield, while stock futures lost around 0.4% on S&P 500 contracts.
Rob Clarry, Investment Strategist at Evelyn Partners, said: “The Federal Reserve is likely to take a dim view of this ongoing tightness in the labour market.
“Ahead of this release, they will have been counting on a slowdown in the number of jobs added to the economy in the hope that this would cool inflationary pressures. But this data strengthens the case for a 75 basis points hike at the July FOMC meeting.”
US adds 372,000 jobs in June
13:55 , Simon Hunt
The US economy added 372,000 jobs in June according to data just released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Professional and business services, leisure and hospitality and healthcare accounted for the majority of the job gains.
The unemployment rate remained at 3.6%.
Matthew Ryan, Head of Market Strategy at Ebury, said: “Another very healthy 372,000 net jobs added last month, right at the upper end of economists’ expectations, after almost all other labour indicators pointed to a fairly sharp slowdown in hiring.
“Earnings growth also beat consensus, with unemployment remaining just shy of five decade lows.
“All in all, no signs just yet that recession concerns are having any discernible impact on hiring, with the jobs market looking well placed to protect the US economy from slowdown risks in the second half of the year.”
Goodway Group buys digital consultancy Canton
13:15 , Simon Hunt
Digital marketing group Goodway has bought UK-based Canton Marketing Solutions and will merge the business with its consultancy Control v Exposed headed by former Havas Media Group CEO Paul Frampton-Calero.
The merged groups will comprise 40 employees and will strengthen Control v Exposed’s expertise in martech consulting and data engineering, according to the group.
Canton’s co-founders Rob Webster and Nick King will join the Control v Exposed leadership team as global vice-presidents of strategy and commercial, respectively, reporting to Frampton-Calero.
FTSE 100: markets hold on
11:40 , Simon English
TRADERS today bet that old fashioned energy stocks, the much derided “big oil”, might do well as green concerns are overtaken by economic pressures.
Political turmoil might also lead to environmental issues taking a back seat, at least for a while.
So Harbour Energy topped the FTSE 100 leader board, up 8p at 327p, with BP, up 7p at 392p and Shell, up 28p at 2060p, not far behind.
The oil price was steady at $104 a barrel, down from $120 a few months ago, but hardly crashing. Demand for the black gold might continue a while yet.
There was a sort of Boris-bounce yesterday as markets seemed to embrace the PM’s resignation.
That wasn’t repeated today, but the City did at least hang on to the gains after a decent showing on Wall Street yesterday and in Asian markets overnight.
Sophie Lund-Yates at Hargreaves Lansdown said: “It would appear that as Boris shut the door to Number Ten after his speech yesterday, the door also slammed shut on the potential for market panic.”
A key US jobs report due later today will influence sentiment into the weekend and beyond.
The FTSE 100 was down very slightly, off 2 points at 7,186.
The woes for the pound continue however, as currency traders take a dim view of the immediate future for UK plc. Sterling fell 0.89 cents to $1.1931.
Over at JD Wetherspoon, founder and chairman Tim Martin, a one-time Boris backer, got in touch to fret over the state of the nation’s finances. He said: “Boris is to sound economics what Nick Kyrgios is to diplomacy. The legacy of astronomical debt needs a tough cookie who can make a sensible economic plan, with the confidence of financial markets, encourage enterprise in the UK, attract investment from abroad and temper expectations of the spending departments in incredibly demanding circumstances.”
Wetherspoon shares have themselves had a miserable run. They have halved in the last year and were today down another 4p to 607p.
Danny Blanchflower in the ES today
11:40 , Simon English
It is not a good sign when pawnbrokers are doing roaring business as people are forced to flog off the family jewellery to survive. Borrowing from H&T Group, Britain’s biggest pawnbroker, now exceeds pre-Covid highs with no relaxation in its lending criteria.People are struggling to pay their bills.
Discontent is being expressed in a number of ways including for the first time in decades a rise in public sector strikes as workers fight to protect their living standards in the face of rising prices.
New homes demand continues to boom for builder Vistry
11:39 , Simon Hunt
Rising interest rates and political turmoil have yet to hit demand for new homes.
London-listed housebuilder Vistry today reported strong first-half results as the property sector continues to boom despite “wider economic uncertainties” with its year-end position expected to be at the top of market forecasts.
The Kent-based firm said house completions rose slightly to 3,219 from the beginning of January to the end of June compared with 3,126 units in the same period last year.
Vistry added that it had strong sales with housebuilding and partnership revenue increasing by 16% to £2.14 billion, up from £1.84 billion year-on-year.
Greg Fitzgerald, CEO of Vistry, said: “Whilst mindful of the wider economic uncertainties, we are positive on the outlook for the group and expect to see significant margin progression in the full year.”
New 10-year mortgage from First Direct
11:38 , Simon English
First direct is launching a 10-year fixed rate mortgage, an increasingly popular deal.
This mortgage is available to first-time buyers, home-movers, as well as those looking to remortgage and customers looking for additional borrowing. The rate is available to customers with a maximum loan-to-value (LTV) of 80%.
Borrowers can secure up to £550,000, with a £490 product fee, or a fee saver option.
