After a few rebounding sessions the European indices stalled this morning, the FTSE et al. pulling back from yesterday’s levels.
Shedding 20ish points the FTSE found itself lurking just above 7400 after the bell, the index hurt by Kingfisher’s 2.5% fall. The DIY-retailer warned of a ‘challenging’ year in its second quarter update this Thursday as it posted a 1.9% drop in total like-for-like sales. There were multiple factors contributing to that decline, including a 4.7% comparable sales fall from B&Q (in part thanks to unseasonal weather), continued weakness in France (where LFLs were down 3.8%) and the impact of its One Kingfisher (LON:KGF) restructuring plan. The one bright spot was Screwfix, which saw its like-for-likes surge by 11%, though this was little comfort to investors, who dragged Kingfisher back below the £3 mark.
Elsewhere the pound was incredibly quiet, opening flat against the dollar, just below $1.29, while nudging above €1.095 against the euro with a 0.1% rise. Wednesday saw sterling fail to hold onto the boost it received from that surprisingly strong jobs report, and the currency may struggle to find any good news this Thursday given that UK retail sales are expected to fall from 0.6% to 0.2% month-on-month.
Over in the Eurozone the DAX and CAC was just as grumpy as the FTSE, falling 0.2% and 0.3% respectively. There are two main releases for the region to deal with this Thursday: the Eurozone-wide inflation reading (set to be confirmed at 1.3%) and the latest ECB meeting minutes. Both could have big consequences for the euro, which is currently down against the pound and the dollar.