Wednesday,18 September 2024 16:39:45

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Wednesday,18 September 2024 at 15:39

London stocks fell as investors mulled the latest UK inflation reading and looked ahead to a policy announcement from the US Federal Reserve. While inflation in the UK was unchanged at 2.2%, a rise in services inflation is likely to keep policymakers more reticent about reducing rates again on Thursday.

US stocks wavered amid uncertainties on how aggressive the Federal Reserve will be with rate cuts. Traders are fully pricing in a 25 basis point Fed reduction with the chance of a bigger move seen as 50/50.

Gold prices gained on a softer dollar amid investor caution ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy decision.

U.S. crude oil edged lower Wednesday. The oil market has been rattled this month by worries about a growing imbalance between supply and demand

In market news:

Consumer goods company PZ Cussons reported a 10.6% drop in full-year revenue to £527.9m on Wednesday, primarily due to the significant devaluation of the Nigerian naira against sterling.

Reckitt Benckiser has reportedly started early discussions with some of the potential suitors for its homecare assets, which could fetch more than £6bn in a deal. Bloomberg cited people familiar with the matter as saying that the consumer goods giant is working with Morgan Stanley for the brands including air freshener Airwick and Cillit Bang cleaners.

Markets

16.33

FTSE 100 8,253 (-0.68%)

FTSE 250 20,829 (-0.55%)

DAX 18,712 (-0.07%)

16.33

Dow Jones 41,538 (-0.16%)

S&P 500 5,630 (-0.06%)

NASDAQ 17,627 +0.01%

Fixed Income

UK 10-YR YIELD 3.847%

Exchange Rates

GBP/USD 1.321

GBP/EUR 1.187

Commodities

Gold $2,571 +0.09%

Brent $73.67 (-0.01%)

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.