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- FTSE 100 slips, down 84 points at 7,535
- UK economy grows 0.2% in quarter to June
- Capita (LON:CPI) boosted by Shore Capital upgrade
US futures muted ahead of further inflation pointer
US stocks are expected to make a subdued start to trading on Friday, ahead of producer price figures, after a prominent Federal Reserve official said there was more to be done to tackle inflation.
In pre-market trading, futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were 0.1% higher, while those for the S&P 500 were little changed, and contracts for the Nasdaq 100 futures were down 0.2%.
Producer price inflation figures are due at 08:30 EST following hard on the heels from Thursday’s consumer price inflation report which showed prices grew slower than expected in July.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the US yearly inflation rate accelerated to 3.2% in July, from 3.0% in June, snapping a streak of 12 successive slowdowns. The latest figure was shy of consensus, however, which had chalked in an acceleration to 3.3%, according to FXStreet. The annual core inflation rate - which excludes food and energy - of 4.7% was in line with expectations.
Paul Ashworth, chief North America economist at Capital Economics, said: "Overall, there's nothing here to suggest the Fed needs to push ahead with further interest rate hikes this year."
Joshua Mahony at Scope Markets said: “Inflation remains the key theme, with US PPI released this afternoon."
“Much like yesterday's CPI figure, base effects make it almost nailed on that we will see US PPI rise as the July 2022 figure of -0.3% is replaced.”
“Nonetheless, with Chinese input prices down -4.4%, any increase above the current US PPI reading of 0.1% does little to shift the notion that factory costs are disinflationary as things stand.”
But San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Mary Daly was in hawkish mood after the CPI report saying although inflation is coming down it is still too high, leaving the central bank with "more work to do."
Speaking to Yahoo Finance Daly said: “It is not a data point that says victory is ours. There's still more work to do."
Daly said she is highly data dependent and is reserving her judgment for how much work is needed to bring down inflation until the Fed’s September policy meeting, when she will pencil in her projections for interest rates.
In other economic news today, the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index is forecast to edge down to a preliminary reading of 71 in August, down from 71.6 in July.
Domino's off the menu at Deutsche
Domino’s Pizza Group PLC (LON:DOM) is no longer on the buy list at Deutsche Bank (ETR:DBKGn) after its strong share price performance this year.
Analyst Harishankar Ramamoorthy accepts Domino's remains a well-operated business with strong, cash generative growth and "with levers to pull" in a potential recession to stimulate demand.
However, the Deutsche analyst explained shares are up 40% year-to-date and trade on around 20x the 2024 price earnings ratio.
Ramamoorthy has upped the price target to 410p from 355p but believes the business is fairly valued at current levels, hence the move to hold from buy.
Shares eased 1.2% to 404.40p.
Car insurance premiums hit record high - ABI
Car insurance premiums have hit a record high due to the soaring cost of labour, replacement parts and energy bills.
British motorists paid an average premium of £511 for private comprehensive motor insurance between April and June of this year, up 21pc compared to the same period in 2022, according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI).
Motorists renewing their cover typically paid £471 for their car insurance during this time – a rise of £36 on the previous quarter – while the average price of a new policy was up £21 to £566.
Average premiums are now at their highest levels since records began in 2012, the trade body said. The ABI gathered data on seven million policies sold in the second quarter of this year, and 28 million over the past 12 months.