Proactive Investors -
- FTSE 100 down 17 points at 8,266
- Weak US factory data sees global stocks wobble
- British Airways (LON:ICAG) owner revives its dividend
Global markets keep lower
London's FTSE 100 appear to be holding steady at around 0.25% lower today, but elsewhere in the world markets haven't fared as well in response to the US's sell-off.
Fears that the US Federal Reserve had waited too late to cut interest rates began to grow after factory output data came in worse than expected.
Europe's Stoxx 600 dropped by 1.25%, taking it to a three-month low, while Germany's Dax sunk fell by 1%. France's CAC 40 slipped 0.35%.
Other nations such as Italy and Switzerland were also affected to by the sell-off.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 closed more than 2,216 points lower, representing its second worst session of trading in its history.
US job data later today could either reverse some of these losses or worsen them.
Reaction to British Airways owner results
Following British Airways owner IAG's interims, shares in the airline have shifted close to 6% higher, making it the best-performing constituent of the FTSE 100 this morning.
Analysts have welcomed the results and pointed out that it marks a sharp change in sentiment surrounding the wider industry, as only yesterday Wizz Air (LON:WIZZ) sunk more than 15% as headwinds appeared to be plaguing short-haul carriers.
Mark Crouch at eToro, said: “British Airways owner IAG has maintained a steady flight path in 2024 with the international carrier faring considerably better than its national counterparts.
"Long haul travel has held up well with robust demand for air travel fuelling increased free cash flow, boosting shareholder returns as a result.
“While profits were down a touch from last year, the company’s balance sheet is in a far healthier state. Investors would need to go back to before the pandemic for the last time IAG paid a dividend, so today's announcement of an interim dividend is a strong statement that the business has at last broken free of the pandemic fallout.
"However, as is usually the case with airlines, potential storm clouds are never far away.
"Air traffic controller strikes have been a constant headwind, while an economic slowdown has the potential to halt air travel demand in its tracks.
"A bigger concern perhaps are the rising tensions in the Middle East: should the conflict escalate further, a potential spike in oil prices is all but guaranteed."
GSK shares surge on cancer drug approval
Shares in GSK (LON:GSK) have shifted close to 2% higher after its cancer drug recieved expanded approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The pharma giant's Jemperli (dostarlimab) in combination with chemotherapy will now be available for more patients with limited treatment options.
This includes patients with mismatch repair proficient or microsatellite stable tumours, which account for the majority of endometrial cancer cases.
The combination therapy of Jemperli and chemotherapy has shown a 31% reduction in the risk of death compared to chemotherapy alone.
Stocks so far today...
As the FTSE 100 continues to hold lower in the first hour of trading, here's a look at how investors have reacted to results from overnight and this morning.
IAG is up close to 5% after it restarted its dividend and dropped its move to buy the outstanding 80% stake of Spanish budget carrier Air Europa.
Virgin Money (LON:VMUK) held flat as its mortgage book shrank by 2.7% to £56 billion year on year in the third quarter.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is predicted to open 0.5% higher after it reported stronger-than-expected earnings for the third quarter, but said performance in China was below analyst forecasts.
Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) plummeted close to 7% in premarket trading as the eCommerce giant’s second quarter revenue came in short of expectations.
It posted a 10% year-over-year increase in revenue to $148 billion, missing estimates of $148.6 billion.