UK Stocks Close Negative, FTSE 100 Index Loses New Year's Fizz

Rancakmedia.com – Did you know that UK stocks closed negative? The live FTSE 100 index posted a more balanced performance after yesterday's 1.6% price hike pushed it to its highest level since early 2020.

Airline and leisure stocks' rebound halted today as some of the new year buzz faded from the London market.

Wall Street markets set the tone for today's downbeat session as rising bond rates prompted a run from share with high growth.

UK Stocks Close Negative, Consolidating FTSE 100 Live

Analysts regard today's move as a correction phase following yesterday's significant gains in the FTSE.

Richard Hunter, head of markets at interactive investors, said: “After a strong start to the New Year, investors' focus is turning to a more important issue which is the prediction of a rate hike.

“Rising Treasury rates in the US fueled a rotation from high-growth stocks, such as technology, toward values, supporting equities finance and industry.

The S&P 500 was almost unchanged as the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit another new closing high. This is despite manufacturing data which was slightly below expectations but otherwise confirmed continued expansion.

“Asian markets were uneven after the news from Wall Street, with a similar theme in play as tech equities came under pressure, with local currencies also responding negatively to the dollar's continued strength.

“After a good start to the year, the cautious mood from other markets naturally angered UK investors in early trading.

Companies will have the opportunity to showcase their latest achievements and, in particular, allay some fears about the perceived economic impact of the Omicron variant on recovery expectations, when the next reporting season kicks off in a few months.

Neil Wilson of Markets.com said: “You have a real divide between the fear about Omicron and the spread of new variations that might hurt the economy and the reality that interest rates are rising, inflation is high, and the economy is doing well. Good. Before Santa's surge continued at the end of last month, the market was trading sideways – with some serious volatility. In January, the market continued its seasonal strength with considerable strength.”

Airline Stocks Consolidating New Year's Gains

This morning, Brent oil traded slightly above $80 per barrel after the OPEC+ conference held yesterday confirmed the intention to increase production by 400,000 bpd in February by as much as 40 percent.

Anticipating that Omicron would not have a major impact on demand, Brent has hit its highest since variants originally left as a result of this decision.

"It is evident based on yesterday's discussions that the negative threat to demand from the new variant never materialized and the group is significantly more comfortable with the outlook based on the data they have seen," said Oanda senior market analyst Craig Erlam.

Oil prices may hold around $80 if this is good news for investors.

Oil Price Strengthens after OPEC+ Meeting

New data out of market research group Kantar says supermarkets are having a fantastic holiday season this year.

Visits to supermarkets returned to their highest since March 2020 over Christmas as Brits cut back on internet purchases. Despite rising costs, sales of holiday food have remained solid.

Brits spent £11.7 billion in supermarkets in December, with home-brand sparkling wine and snacks in high demand. December saw a slight drop in Christmas spending compared to the record December 2020 total.

Online purchases fell 3.7 percent year-over-year as customers returned to supermarkets despite a spike in Omicron cases.

Kantar documented the largest number of in-store visits to supermarkets since the initial phase of the epidemic before the first closures. The new peak occurred on December 23.

Kantar said Tesco remained the UK's largest supermarket with 27.9 per cent market share and had the fewest year-on-year sales decline of any of the Big Four.

Ocado is the only major retailer that isn't experiencing that price reduction sales in the past year, expanding its takeover by 2.5 percent, while spending at Aldi has remained flat in 2020.

FAQs

Below we have summarized some frequently asked questions about UK stocks, as follows:

What is FTSE In Stock?

This index belonging to the British stock exchange, the Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE), contains the best stocks that are the target of investors in the world. The FTSE is a global index owned by the London Stock Exchange that provides innovative benchmarking, analytics and data solutions for investors around the world.

Conclusion

The FTSE 100 Live Index posted a more moderate performance after yesterday's 1.6 percent opening day gain. Analysts regard today's move as a correction phase after yesterday's gains.

Brent oil is trading slightly above $80 per barrel after the OPEC+ conference confirmed intent to increase production in February.

Visits to supermarkets returned to their highest since March 2020 at Christmas. The British spent £11.7 billion on supermarkets in December.

With its own brand of sparkling wine and snacks in high demand. Online purchases fell 3.7 percent year-over-year as customers returned to supermarkets.