Proactive Investors -
- FTSE 100 up 5 points at 7,600
- Barclays (LON:BARC) buys most of Tesco (LON:TSCO)'s banking business
- Victrex (LON:VCTX) tumbles on weak trading
Steady progress expected in New York
Stocks in New York are expected to open modestly higher as the S&P 500 tries to push beyond 5,000.
In pre-market trading, futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.1%, while those for the S&P 500 rose 0.2% and contracts for the Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 0.3%.
Ahead of the open, the Bureau of Statistics will release CPI revisions, which consists of the revised month-over-month CPI figures for the past five years, incorporating some adjustments.
In corporate news, results from Pepsi are out, with shares down 1.7% in pre-market trading.
Elsewhere, Lorie Logan, president of the US Federal Reserve’s Dallas branch, will participate in a keynote conversation as the round of ‘Fedspeak’ continues.
BoE's Haskel wants more evidence inflation is falling
Jonathan Haskel, one of two Monetary Policy Committee members who voted to raise rates last week, has said he wants to seee more evidence that inflationary pressures are cooling.
In an interview with Reuters, Haskel said: "The signs that we’ve seen thus far are encouraging. I don’t think we’ve seen quite enough signs yet."
"But if we accumulate more evidence on persistence, then by the very logic I’ve just set out, I’d be happy to change my vote.”
Bellway update reflects tough housing market
Russ Mould at AJ Bell notes like much of the housebuilding sector Bellway (LON:BWY) has seen its shares bounce back strongly since the autumn on hopes a shift in rate expectations can make mortgages more affordable and revive a moribund housing market.
But today’s update shows "what’s in the immediate rearview mirror is ugly."
"Sales volumes have collapsed and average sales prices have gone stale, all the while the company continues to battle cost pressures," he noted.
“More positively, cost pressures are starting to ease and the company is confident enough to point to a return to sales growth in the July 2025 financial year.
“What may prompt some concern among investors is a drop in the company’s cash position."
"The one saving grace for the sector during this market downturn has been its constituents’ relatively strong balance sheets but Bellway’s cash buffer has largely been eroded," he noted.