Thursday,18 July 2024 16:39:38

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Thursday,18 July 2024 at 15:40

UK & European stocks were muted as European Central Bank (ECB) held rates steady as was widely expected.

US indices were in the green early on Thursday following a heavy tech selloff that saw the Nasdaq Composite deliver its worst daily performance since December 2022.

Oil was broadly steady, finding support from continuing expectations of a looming cut in U.S. interest rates after the release of jobs data, and a larger than expected decline in U.S. crude stocks.

Gold prices edged higher, trading not too far away from a record high scaled in the previous session, as rising anticipation of a U.S. interest rate cut in September boosted demand.

In corporate news, Facebook parent company Meta is reportedly in discussions to buy a 5% stake in Italian-French eyewear maker EssilorLuxottica as the social-media giant looks to deepen its ties with the company that makes its Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses.

According to the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, both companies are currently in talks, but a deal is not certain.

However, based on current market prices, a 5% shareholding in the company would be worth roughly €4.5bn.

Markets

the close

FTSE 100 8,204 +0.21%

FTSE 250 21,234 +0.67%

DAX 18,378 (-0.33%)

16:35

Dow Jones 41,081 (-0.28%)

S&P 500 5,561 (-0.50%)

NASDAQ 17,834 (-0.90%)

Fixed Income

UK 10-YR YIELD 4.052

Exchange Rates

GBP/USD 1.297

GBP/EUR 1.189

Commodities

Gold $2,465 +0.31%

Brent $85.09 (-0.04%)

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.