Key Points
- FTSE finishes flat, miners weigh
- Just Eat Takeaway (LON:JETJ) (LON:JE) jumps after earnings
- GameStop (NYSE:GME) rally continues
- US CPI in line with expectations
- US crude inventories increase more than forecast
- Bitcoin remains elevated
By Samuel Indyk
Investing.com – The FTSE 100 finished broadly unchanged as miners weighed on the index which missed out on the global rally. Other European bourses surged higher, as did their US counterparts after US the CPI report. Consumer prices rose just 0.4% month-over-month but core prices were lower than forecast allaying fears over surging inflation for now.
Miners were weak for a second day despite an increase in copper which rose back above $4/lb after falling below that level yesterday. Markets remain fearful that Chinese fiscal and monetary stimulus could start to slow which could weigh on prices, despite the US stimulus in the pipeline. Antofagasta (LON:ANTO), BHP Group PLC (LON:BHPB) and Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) were some of the worst performers in the blue-chip index.
At the other end of the scale was Just Eat whose shares rose after their earnings pre-market. The Anglo-Dutch company said it will continue to invest to drive further growth and market share gain, following its previously announced acquisition of Grubhub Inc (NYSE:GRUB). Revenue was up 54% year-over-year while underlying earnings rose 18%.
Shares in GameStop surged another 20% as market strategists note that a portion of the $1,400 US stimulus checks that citizens are soon to receive could find its way into the stock market.
Oil
WTI and Brent crude futures swung between gains and losses after a larger than expected build in US oil inventories in the latest week. The price also whipsawed after comments from Russian Energy Minister Novak who reportedly said Russia was to increase output by 890,000 barrels per day from May. However, the comments were later clarified to confirm this was from April 2020 levels rather than April 2021, which would have signalled a much larger increase.
Currencies
The USD was mostly flat although the USD index dropped below 92.00 following the US inflation report. GBP/USD reached its highest level in almost a week as the pair climbed back above 1.39 to 1.3933 before paring gains to trade relatively unchanged.
Looking ahead
Focus will be on the US 10-year note auction at 18:00GMT. Last night’s 3-year auction went off without a hitch and markets will be hoping demand holds up when the Treasury sells its 10-year notes today. Tomorrow, the ECB meets and will announce their interest rate decision at 12:45GMT before a press conference with President Lagarde at 13:30GMT.