Key Points
- FTSE 100 closing price of 7088.64, +0.1%
- BT shares jump as Altice takes stake
- ECB keeps policy instruments on hold
- US CPI hits highest since 2008
- Oil higher as OPEC forecasts demand pick up
- Bitcoin bounce continues on El Salvador adoption
By Samuel Indyk
Investing.com – The FTSE 100 finished marginally higher on Thursday, supported by BT and Auto Trader, while some Travel & Leisure stocks fell on further doubts about the UK reopening plans.
BT (LON:BT) shares rallied after French telecoms company Altice (AS:ATCA) announced they had built up a 12% stake in BT, although said they had no plans for a full takeover. BT responded to the announcement, saying they welcome all investors who recognise the long-term value of the business.
Auto Trader (LON:AUTOA) shares rallied despite the company announcing a 29% decline in revenue during the pandemic hit year. However, things are looking rosy going forward according to Hargreaves Lansdown (LON:HRGV) Senior Investment and Markets Analyst Susannah Streeter.
“Auto Trader may have swerved into the slow lane during the pandemic but it still has the dominant position in the market and continues to be the go-to online destination for car sales,” Streeter said.
GBP had been weak with GBP/USD dropping to its lowest level in a month amid fears of a fully blown trade row between the UK and EU over the Northern Ireland protocol. The two parties are both blaming the other for the issues, with the EU confirming they plan to escalate their legal challenge.
However, the two big risk events helped lift GBP/USD off its lows.
Firstly, the ECB kept their monetary policy instruments unchanged and said they would maintain their pace of bond buying, which accelerated in Q2 after a slow start to the year. The central bank lifted their near-term forecasts for growth and inflation but overall the decision and press conference passed without too many surprises.
All eyes then turned to the US CPI print which showed consumer prices rising 5%, at their fastest level since September 2008 in May. The core CPI was at its highest level since 1992.
However, despite the stronger than forecast reading, the US Dollar was trading relatively flat with the US Dollar Index testing 90.00 to the downside as markets seemingly believe the Fed when they say they’ll look through any temporary rise in inflation before deciding to remove their emergency stimulus announced at the onset of the pandemic.
WTI and Brent crude futures were trading higher, supported by OPEC’s latest monthly oil market report. The cartel said they expect global oil demand to increase by 5.95mln barrels per day this year amid a recovery in global economic growth in the second half of the year.
Bitcoin soared to its highest level since 4th June after El Salvador parliament approved the cryptocurrency as legal tender. Other major cryptocurrencies were also higher in sympathy with Ethereum holding firm above $2,500.
------------------------------------------------------------
Subscribe to Investing.com UK here
------------------------------------------------------------