It’s been a week of choppy trade for the FTSE 100, with the benchmark looking set to end it on the back foot after dropping more than 50 points this morning. Nearly all of last week’s gains have now been erased with a solid, if not spectacular, rise in the pound since Monday doing little to help the stock market.
Cracks appearing in stocks stateside?
International effects have been pulling UK stocks in opposing directions of late with some notable weakness on the continent, where several benchmark have now handed back their Macron-inspired gains, being offset by a roaring bull market across the Atlantic. However last night saw some rare weakness of late in New York with the tech heavy Nasdaq seeing some significant selling for the first time since the start of the month. If this does mark a peak for the bull market it will be remembered as the day that Jeff Bezos became the wealthiest person on the planet, after his personal fortune briefly overtook that of BIll Gates who has held the title for several years, before the title was duly handed back.
Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) falls after big earnings miss
Shares in Amazon are expected to open sharply lower this afternoon after the company posted a disappointing earnings release last night. Earnings per share of just 40 cents were markedly lower than the $1.42 consensus expected by analysts and despite strong revenue growth this has come as something of a shock to investors. Bezos, the founder of Amazon who retains a 17% stake in the firm, has seen his wealth enjoy a near meteoric rise as the tech company’s stock rallied sharply to hit an all-time high ahead of the latest earnings figures which were released after the closing bell. However shares were lower by around 2-3% in after-hours trading and should they re open around this level later today it would mark a short and sweet time at the number 1 spot for Bezos.
Pound standing firm above 1.30
Sterling has recovered this week after the declines last time out and the currency remains fairly well supported against most of its peers. The GBPUSD is set for its second highest weekly close of 2017 and the market appears to be holding firm above 1.30 with dips back towards this level attracting buyers to step back in. Out of the G10, only the Scandinavian currencies are higher on the week against the pound with the Swiss Franc the clear loser and falling more than 3% against Sterling as market rumours of potential SNB intervention to weaken the Swissie gather momentum.