FTSE 100 Live: 'Bank of England meeting just got interesting', Fed … – Evening Standard

he Bank of England held interest rates at 5.25% today, ending a run of 14 consecutive hikes.
The decision was finely balanced after yesterday’s surprise drop in August’s inflation rate to 6.7%. Five members of the Monetary Policy Committee voted to hold and four to hike.
The FTSE 100 index, meanwhile, is under pressure after the Federal Reserve signalled US rates will stay high for longer in 2024.
Jeremy Batstone-Carr, European Strategist at Raymond James Investment Services, said: “The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee has surprised the financial markets and delivered some relief to hard-pressed households by maintaining the base rate of interest at 5.25%.
“Undoubtedly, the overriding factor behind the Bank’s decision has been the fall in the UK’s inflation rate in August, particularly the sharp drop in underlying price pressures which indicate that earlier rate increases are beginning to work.
SPONSORED
“Moreover, the economy’s weakness in July means that activity over the third quarter has been revised downwards, below the Bank’s previous expectation. This is a clear sign that inflationary pressures, including wage pressures, will continue to abate over the autumn months.
“In addition, recent data points to a slight easing in the labour market, confirming a slight increase in the unemployment rate which now stands above the Bank’s forecast.
“Also serving to sway policymakers, recent business surveys point to further weakness in coming months. The MPC is likely to have had early sight of tomorrow’s purchasing managers’ survey, thought likely to confirm subdued activity across both the manufacturing and service sectors.”
Rupert Murdoch, the 92-year-old media mogul, has confirmed that he’s stepping down as the chairman of Fox Corp and News Corp.
As well as announcing his departure from the role, Murdoch confirmed that he was handing over leadership to his son Lachlan Murdoch.
In his departing message, Rupert said: “Our companies are in robust health, as am I. We have every reason to be optimistic about the coming years — I certainly am, and plan to be here to participate in them. But the battle for the freedom of speech and, ultimately, the freedom of thought, has never been more intense.”
Read more here
The FTSE 100 closed at 7,678.62, down 0.7%, despite the Bank of England’s interest rate pause.
The decision not to raise interest rates initially boosted stocks, but the effect was short-lived, with the index finishing close to where it was before the decision was announced.
JD and Next were the top risers as the high street giants both reported strong demand. Ocado was by far the biggest faller after a target price downgrade from Exane.
Aquis, the challenger stock exchange with ambitious plans to become a serious competitor to larger rivals, gave evidence today it is on track for strong growth.
With some of the City in the doldrums due to a lack of new flotations and lower share trading, it saw revenues jump 17% to £9.7 million in the half year to June.
Profit before tax is up 64% to £1.1 million.
It saw five new listings on its exchange in the last six months, despite what it admitted are “tough market conditions”.
Read more here
“Had the prime minister not spent Wednesday preparing to roll back Britain’s climate policies, the big story of the day would have been a good news one for the government: inflation continues to fall,” Jack Kessler writes.
“The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) dropped to 6.7 per cent last month, down from 6.8 per cent in July. Not a gigantic change, and still well above the 2 per cent target, but far better than City predictions of a rise to 7.1 per cent. Meanwhile, core inflation fell from 6.8 per cent to 6.2 per cent.
“And it was this set of data that may well have been the difference between another interest rate rise and what actually took place today – holding steady at 5.25 per cent. This represents the first time the Bank of England has declined to raise rates since late 2021. Happy days are here again.”
Read the full West End Final newsletter here
The boss of City Pub Group today took aim at dynamic pint pricing after it emerged some pub chains were raising prices at peak trading hours to boost their margins.
“I just think it’s wrong,” Clive Watson told the Standard.
“We sometimes change the booking fees for events depending on how far out people book. But on the actual night, when you’re having a good time, changing the drinks prices is not transparent.”
Slug & Lettuce and Yates’s owner Stonegate last week said it planned to ramp up prices by as much as 20p per pint during its busiest times.
Read more here
Savers may see some rates being shaved down after the Bank of England paused its run of base rate rises, according to consumer champion Martin Lewis.
But he suggested that those considering locking into a top fixed-rate account could use a tactic to help them wait and see what happens to rates.
Writing on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, the MoneySavingExpert.com founder issued an “urgent savers warning”.
He said: “The Bank of England minutes ago voted to maintain interest rates at 5.25% – not increase as many predicted. It’s therefore possible fixed-rate savings may shave down their rates at speed (as they’re based on longer term predictions of interest rates).”
Read more here
Take a look at the latest market snapshot
Loading….
There’s been little movemment in News Corp shares so far on Wall Street after Rupert Murdoch announced his decision to step down.
Shares initially fell by around 1% to $19.50, but quickly picked up and are currently up slightly for the day at $19.71. That’s up by about 8% for the year to date, and vallues the media giant at more than $11 billion.
Arm’s shares have lost 3.7% since opening, and are now below the chip-maker’s $512 IPO price.
The price of the IPO was seen as low, and Arm shares quickly rocketed above $60. But within a week, they have fallen back down, valuing the firm at less than $50 billion.
Furniture retailer DFS saw its profits cut by almost half over the past year in the face of “very weak” demand.
However, the London-listed firm saw shares make gains in early trading on Thursday after bosses said they are “confident the market will recover”.
The sofa specialist also told shareholders it expects a “modest” rise in profits next year as inflationary pressures ease.
Read more here

source