Yahoo Finance LIVE: FTSE and Wall Street higher as US job openings data misses forecasts
A look at how the major markets are performing on Tuesday
European stock markets were higher on Tuesday as price rises in the UK slowed to their lowest rate since October last year, and US jobs data came in lower than expected.
In London, the FTSE 100 (^FTSE) rose 1.8% on the day, while the CAC (^FCHI) was 0.6% higher in Paris, and the Frankfurt DAX (^GDAXI) was also gained 0.8%.
Across the pond, the S&P 500 (^GSPC) climbed 0.9% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq (^IXIC) was 1.4% higher at the time of the European close. The Dow Jones (^DJI) was 0.3% higher.
The number of job openings in the US came in lower than expected in July at 600,000.
The job openings and labour turnover survey (JOLTS) showed that there were 8.8 million job openings for the month, down from 9.2 million the month before. This was well below the 9.5 million expected by economists polled by Reuters.
It marked the sixth decline in the last seven months.
In the UK, prices rose 6.9% in the year to August, down from 8.4% in July, thanks to fresh food prices climbing less rapidly, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC). Fresh food inflation slowed to 11.6% in August, down from 14.3% the month before.
“These figures would have been lower still had the government not increased alcohol duties earlier this month," Helen Dickinson, chief executive at the BRC, said.
"While inflation is on course to continue to fall thanks to retailers’ efforts, there are supply chain risks for retailers to navigate.
“Russia’s withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative and its targeting of Ukrainian grain facilities, as well as poor harvests across Europe and beyond, could serve as potential roadblocks to lower inflation.
“A potential £400m hike to business rates bills from next April would certainly jeopardise efforts to tackle inflation unless the chancellor intervenes.”
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Stocks were also boosted by optimism over fresh policy support from China, which also confirmed on Sunday that it was halving stamp duty on stock trades.
John Choong, analyst at Investing Reviews, said: "Stimulus measures being enacted in China, along with a positive reaction to Jerome Powell’s speech on Friday, have also boosted market sentiment. That said, investors should be wary of celebrating too soon.
"While today’s figures are encouraging, the outlook for core and services inflation, which Andrew Bailey has gone on record saying is more important at the moment, remains cloudy. As such, there’s still inconclusive evidence of core and services inflation cooling.
"But provided more disinflation prints like Tuesday’s continue, markets should pull back on their expectations for the Bank’s terminal rate. This would inevitably be good news for stocks in the banking and housebuilding sectors."
Watch: How does inflation affect interest rates?
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