Thursday,18 April 2024 08:56:42

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Thursday,18 April 2024 at 07:54

UK and European markets opened slightly higher, even as sentiment was tempered by declines stateside this week.

Asia-Pacific markets climbed across the board Thursday, in contrast with Wall Street’s overnight losses which saw the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite fall for a fourth straight day.

Gold prices climbed, as risks of a widening Middle East conflict raised bullion’s safe-haven appeal, overshadowing pressures from higher-for-longer U.S. interest rates.

Oil prices rose in early trade, slightly paring the previous session’s losses after the United States said it would reinstate oil sanctions Venezuela, while the European Union talked of fresh curbs on Iran.

In corporate news, budget airline easyJet said in an update that its winter losses narrowed by more than £50m over the six months through March, with its headline loss before tax expected to be between £340m and £360m.

The FTSE 100 company said that despite challenges like fuel cost inflation and Middle East tensions impacting results, targeted capacity growth, productivity gains and flat year-on-year unit costs excluding fuel contributed to its improvement.

Additionally, easyJet holidays saw significant profit growth of 206% compared to the first half of 2023, and a 42% increase in customers year-on-year, with strong bookings for the upcoming summer.

Markets

At 08:30

FTSE 100 7,884 +0.47%

FTSE 250 19,393 +0.28%

DAX 17,821 +0.32%

At the close

Dow Jones 37,753 (-0.12%)

S&P 500 5,022 (-0.58%)

NASDAQ 15,683 (-1.15%)

Fixed Income

UK 10-YR YIELD 4.251

Exchange Rates

GBP/USD 1.247

GBP/EUR 1.167

Commodities

Gold $2,376 +0.66%

Brent $86.78 (-0.19%)

Important - No news or research item should be construed as a recommendation to trade. The inclusion of securities within this report does not necessarily imply their suitability for individual portfolios or situations in respect of which further advice should be sought. Information contained in this report has been compiled from sources believed to be reliable but is not warranted to be accurate or complete.