The FTSE 100 was steady on Thursday as investors continued to digest the latest raft of economic data and accessed the implications of higher borrowing costs in the coming months.
The FTSE 100 was down just 0.1% to 7,888 at the time of writing on Thursday. The index has traded in a tight trading range between 7,880-7,920 for most of this week.
Higher UK inflation, better Chinese growth and a mixed US jobs market have presented a complex macroeconomic picture for traders.
“The decline in miners, packaging groups and retailers on the UK stock market would suggest investors are once again worried about the outlook for the global economy. Markets have stalled over the past few days, with the latest corporate updates failing to move the dial,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
“A lot of companies are keeping their heads above water but there remain plenty of headwinds to cloud the outlook. The prospect of another round of interest rate hikes in the US and Europe will further increase the cost of borrowing, coinciding with fears that banks are going to have stricter lending policies following the recent Silicon Valley Crisis. Tighter lending could feasibly lead to weaker economic activity.”
FTSE 100 risers
Segro was the standout performer on Thursday after the industrial property company said they were enjoying a strong start to the year.
“2023 has started well for SEGRO,” said David Sleath, Chief Executive.
“Occupier demand continues to be high and is coming from a diverse range of customers, whilst supply remains limited across all our markets. These favourable dynamics, combined with the active asset management of our prime portfolio, have enabled us to drive strong rent roll growth from the leasing of recently completed space and the capture of reversion and indexation from our standing assets.”
Segro shares were trading 3.65% higher at the time of writing.
Consumer health company Haleon rose 3.2% after reporting 9.9% economic growth in the first quarter. The respiratory business unit accounted for a large proportion of their growth with a 33% organic sales increase.
FTSE 100 fallers
Excluding Melrose, which may be showing as a loss on some pricing systems (or a substantial gain) following their demerger of GKN assets and stock consolidation, Antofagasta was the top faller, down 3%.
The copper miner released an underwhelming production report yesterday and was caught up in a general selloff of miners.
Anglo American was 2% weaker.
Housebuilders have ebbed away this week as the possibilty of higher borrowing costs dampens interest in the sector. Persimmon was down 2% and Taylor Wimpey edged down 1.7%.
