It was another slow start this Friday, with the FTSE trapped the wrong side of 7400 despite a 0.2% increase after the bell.
A broad rebound from its pesky commodity stocks – the sector being the main reason the index tanked on Wednesday, leaving it at a one-month low – allowed the FTSE to claw back around 15 points, pushing it above 7360.
HSBC's (LON:HSBA) 2.6% increase also worked to the UK index’s advantage, a rise that sent the stock to a 8-ish month high. The bank posted a 30% surge in Q1 pre-tax profit to $6.21 billion, a good whack ahead of the $5.58 billion forecast by analysts. This as operating expenses fell 12% across the first quarter, the company benefiting from a lack of legal and regulatory charges that marred its update this time last year.
Sterling wasn’t up to too much as trading got underway. Against the dollar it slipped 0.1%, continuing to drift away from Wednesday’s 2-week peak, while against the euro it was effectively unchanged. It is unlikely to remain quite as reticent as the day progresses, however. Not only is there the latest UK services PMI – expected to lift from 48.9 to 50.4 – but the Eurozone inflation reading and, perhaps most importantly, the US non-farm jobs report. So, plenty for forex fans to get their chops around.
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