Yahoo Finance LIVE: FTSE slides and Wall Street mixed as UK hiring falls and house prices drop
A look at how the major markets are performing on Monday
European stock markets were on the back foot on Monday, with Wall Street largely following its lead, as UK hiring fell at its fastest pace in more than three years.
In London, the FTSE 100 (^FTSE) declined 0.2% by afternoon trade, weighed down by heavyweight miners, while the CAC (^FCHI) lost almost 0.2% in Paris, and the Frankfurt DAX (^GDAXI) was also 0.2% lower.
Across the pond, the S&P 500 (^GSPC) gained 0.4% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq (^IXIC) was 0.1% lower after opening bell. The Dow Jones (^DJI) rose 0.7%.
A survey by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG showed that permanent staff hiring fell to 42.4 in July, the lowest level since the 34.3 recorded in June 2020, when the country was in lockdown due to the pandemic. It was the weakest growth in nine months.
The rate of wage growth was also the lowest since April 2021.They report revealed frequent reports of redundancies and hiring freezes, while competition for skilled workers and the increased cost of living continued to place upward pressure on rates of starting pay during July.
More individuals sought permanent positions during the period, however, employers hired fewer permanent staff through recruitment agencies due to concerns about the economy.
Neil Carberry, chief executive of REC, said the jobs market remained "fairly robust" despite the slowdown in permanent placements.
"To some extend this is normalisation as the post-pandemic boom abates, but it is also driven by uncertainty," he said.
Elsewhere, UK house prices fell 2.4% in July compared to the same period a year ago, but this was at a slightly slower pace thanks to a rise in activity from first-time buyers.
According to Halifax’s house price index, the average property price stood at £285,044, a 0.3% drop on the previous month, and a fourth consecutive monthly decline.
The fall is equivalent to a price drop of around £1,000 in cash terms, and compares to a peak of £293,992 last August. In June prices declined 2.6%, from 1.1% in May.
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It came as UK business confidence fell last month, according to the latest Business Trends report from accounting firm BDO.
Employers’ hiring intentions dropped for the first time in six months, while manufacturing output fell to its lowest point since May 2020, with continuing supply difficulties taking a toll.
Kaley Crossthwaite, a partner at BDO, said: “With yet another hike in interest rates from the Bank of England last week, this downturn is only set to worsen in what should be a golden quarter for many, if more isn’t done to support businesses.
“To reverse these trends, government needs to work more closely with industry to ensure firms of all sizes have tailored support in order to weather the storm, invest and grow.”
Watch: How does inflation affect interest rates?
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