Weekly Round Up
Despite reaching a pandemic high this week, the FTSE 100 Index fell on Friday ending with a modest gain, to trade at 7,230 points at the time of writing.
Shares in NatWest Group Plc led Friday’s fall, the bank reported a third-quarter profit but said it took a £294 million charge that included a provision for an expected fine for money laundering failings. In addition, mining stocks were under pressure after Glencore reported a 9% drop in coal output in its third-quarter production report.
The UK budget was announced this week with think tanks suggesting millions of people in the UK will be worse off next year, despite Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s promises of higher wages and help with the cost of living. The plans set out on Wednesday represented a real and substantial boost to public spending but a cocktail of higher inflation, tepid pay growth and sharp tax rises means households face years of stagnating living standards.
In the commodity markets, US natural gas futures were little changed around $5.8 per million British thermal units on Friday, after sinking 7% the day before, as traders digested global supply and domestic stockpiles.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered Gazprom to start refilling its European gas storage facilities and ship more gas to Europe from 8 November.
Brent crude settled around $83.8 per barrel early on Friday but is set for a 2% weekly loss amid easing concerns over supply tightness and traders awaiting announcements from the OPEC+ meeting next week.
Spot gold prices steadied near the $1,800 level on Friday, with the metal set for a third weekly gain after the dollar fell against other currencies and the rally in US bond yields stalled.
US stock futures dipped on Friday after major technology companies released disappointing results at market close. Apple shares dropped more than 3% in extended trading on a revenue miss, which the company attributed to supply constraints, while Amazon stock fell 4% after it posted an EPS that fell short of expectations and offered weak fourth quarter guidance.
The US economy grew at its slowest pace for more than a year, bolstering speculations that other central banks may raise interest rates faster than the Federal Reserve. Meanwhile the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indices both notched fresh record highs in Thursday’s regular trading session as investors shrugged off weak economic growth data.
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