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FTSE 100 LIVE: European markets mixed as traders digest recession news

Lucy Harley-McKeown
Updated
ftse Copies of the Evening Standard outside the Bank of England in the City of London, after figures showed Britain's economy slipped into a recession at the end of 2023. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated that GDP - a key measure of economic activity - fell by 0.3% in the last three months of 2023, following a decline of 0.1% in the previous three months. Picture date: Thursday February 15, 2024. (Photo by Yui Mok/PA Images via Getty Images)
The Bank of England's former chief economist Andy Haldane said that holding interest rates at the current level could risk worsening the UK's recession. The FTSE was flat. (Yui Mok - PA Images via Getty Images)

European markets and the FTSE were mixed on Monday in London, as the fallout from last week's UK GDP data — and the news that the UK fell into a recession at the end of last year — continues to reverberate.

  • The FTSE 100 (^FTSE) had risen 0.3% by the close. Meanwhile the DAX (^GDAXI) dropped 0.2% and the CAC (^FCHI) was 0.1% lower. The pan-European Stoxx 600 (^STOXX) was up 0.2%.

  • The moves came following comments from the Bank of England's (BoE) former chief economist Andy Haldane on Bloomberg's podcast, that holding interest rates at the current level could risk worsening the UK's recession.

  • “For me the case for putting in place some upfront, early insurance on the monetary policy side is strong and strengthening, and I’m fearful we leave that insurance a little too late in the year," he said.

  • Last week, it was revealed the UK had ended 2023 with two consecutive quarters of negative growth — a technical recession.

  • US markets are closed for Presidents' Day.

Read more: What is a recession and why is Jeremy Hunt comfortable with one?

Follow along for live updates:

LIVE COVERAGE IS OVER13 updates
  • Lucy Harley-McKeown

    That's it from me

    We'll be here again tomorrow for more market-moving news. Thanks!

  • Lucy Harley-McKeown

    'Extremely quiet'

    Analysts at IG have called today 'extremely quiet' and i'd have to concur with hat...

    Here's Axel Rudolph's take on what's going on:

    "Chinese markets ended the day in positive territory with the Shanghai Composite gaining 1.6% to close at six-week highs on the first trading day after the Lunar New Year break. Positive tourism revenues data during the holidays and an unchanged one-year medium-term lending facility rate propped up Chinese equities and led to gains in the region at large. The FTSE 100 has begun this week where it left off last week by outperforming its European peers during an extremely quiet session as US stock markets were closed for President Day."

  • Lucy Harley-McKeown

    No update for US open

    No update for the US open today because it's Presidents' Day.

  • Lucy Harley-McKeown

    Stats watchdog barks at Treasury

    The head of the UK stats watchdog has pushed back on Treasury ministers claims about tax cuts for the average worker.

    Laura Trott's claims risk "misleading" the public, Sir Robert Chote said in a letter, after the chief secretary to the Treasury said that "taxes for the average worker will have gone down £1,000 since 2010".

    Chote said in the letter that Trott may have confused the figures of the average worker for the total for an average household.

    "The Office for Statistics Regulation is increasing its engagement with government departments, including HM Treasury, to ensure future communications do not have the potential to mislead and comply with the principles of intelligent transparency," he added.

  • Lucy Harley-McKeown

    Nintendo slides on late Switch 2

  • Lucy Harley-McKeown

    Mining rally ends

    Having rallied at the end of last week, mining stocks are dragging down the FTSE 100 today. (GLEN.L), Anglo American (AAL.L) and Antofagasta (ANTO.L) are all down between 1.5% and 2%.

    Last week's rally was attributed to a weaker dollar and more attractive copper prices for producers, but the narrative appears to have flipped on Monday.

  • Lucy Harley-McKeown

    Week ahead: Barclays earnings

    Here's Neil Wilson from Finalto on the week's upcoming earnings, particularly Barclays:

    [There is] Barclays (BARC.L) to kick things off on Tuesday, HSBC (HSBA.L) on Wednesday, Lloyds (LLOY.L) on Thursday and Standard Chartered (STAN.L) on Friday.

    NatWest offered promise – shares rallied 7% on Friday after it reported its best profit since 2007Remember what happened next?

    All eyes are on Barclays chief CS Venkatakrishnan and his strategy update – the first since 2016 and one that comes after a pretty torrid time for the shares. There is a question about UK bank valuations generally, as expressed by Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey last week: “Why are the valuations of banks so much in the doldrums?” But Barclays trades at a particularly large discount to book value. Expect lots of cost-cutting, but it seems unlikely Venkat will retreat from the investment banking business per se. Expect efforts to boost ROTE by slashing costs, culling certain unprofitable clients, boosting ‘wealth management’ and a clear outline on shareholder returns.

  • Lucy Harley-McKeown

    Apple's shares calm despite potential €500m fine

    The European Union took a step closer to fining tech giant Apple (AAPL) for the first time, over allegations it used anti-competitive practices in the alleged silencing of music-streaming rivals on its platforms, according to reports.

    The action is centred on claims that Apple stopped rivals, including Spotify, from informing consumers of cheaper deals, Bloomberg reported citing people familiar with the matter.

    Apple said: “App Store has helped Spotify become the top music streaming service across Europe.” The European Commission declined to comment.

  • Lucy Harley-McKeown

    JD.com's got a taste for Currys

    Tech retailer Currys (CURY.L) is having a strong start to the week — one of the early stock market winners — as news swirls about a potential takeover by Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com (JD). Stock has bounced almost 33% as of 8.50am in London.

    JD.com confirmed it was looking at a potential deal after The Times reported over the weekend that Elliot Advisors was be another suitor lining up to buy it out. Currys said in a filing that it rejected the 62 pence per share offer from Elliot, adding that it believed it significantly undervalued the company.

  • Lucy Harley-McKeown

    US stock futures

    Here's a US pre-market chart:

    US indexes closed lower last week as the market digested data showing inflation ramping up.

  • Lucy Harley-McKeown

    Overnight in Asia

    Monday saw a mixed day of trade in Asia. There was almost no movement in Japanese indexes, with the Nikkei (^N225) finishing on a flatline.

    Meanwhile in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng (^HSI) fell 1.1% after China's central bank decided to hold interest rates — a move intended to protect the local currency. Interest rates in china have now been at 2.5% for the last six months.

    In general, Chinese stocks have been rallying into the Year of the Dragon following the lunar new year break.

  • Lucy Harley-McKeown

    Average asking prices creep up in UK property

    First up we have data from property website Rightmove:

    Average asking prices for UK houses rose by £3,091 in February to £362,839, up 0.1% compared with this time last year.

    The move upwards follows annual falls in every month since August 2023 and is a sign of growing momentum in the market, the property portal said.

    Meanwhile, the number of sales agreed in the first six weeks of the year was 16% higher than in the same period last year, indicating that early-bird buyers feel that 2024 offers the right market conditions to move, despite high interest rates on mortgages.

    Despite this optimism, the market remains price-sensitive, with many buyers very budget-conscious. Sellers who are over-optimistic and think that the more positive market sentiment will let them try asking for too high a price, risk being left on the shelf and missing out on the important spring moving season.

    Read the full story here.

  • Lucy Harley-McKeown

    Good morning!

    Hello from London. It's relatively quiet on the economic calendar in the UK today, apart from house price data. It's Presidents' Day in the US.

    Later this week we've got UK net borrowing data and consumer price inflation readings in the EU, as well as the all-important US jobs report.

Watch: Bank of England expected to keep interest rates the same

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