Wall Street jumps and FTSE 100 hits two-month high as oil recovers
The FTSE 100 and European stocks were mostly higher this Tuesday, with the UK’s benchmark hitting a two-month high, as oil stocks bounced back.
On Wall Street, stocks rose as traders looked past more China COVID lockdowns and instead focused on a host of strong earnings reports
The Dow Jones (^DJI) climbed 0.80% to 33,968. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) gained 0.72% to 3,949 points and the tech-heavy Nasdaq (^IXIC) rose 0.49% to 11,079.
At the close, the FTSE 100 (^FTSE) was 1.03% higher at 7,452, while the CAC (^FCHI) in Paris advanced 0.35% to finish at 6,657 points. In Germany, the DAX (^GDAXI) gained 0.29% to 14,422.
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The commodities-heavy FTSE 100 traded at its strongest level since September 13.
FTSE-listed AO World (AO.L) surged 16%, as the online electrical retailer forecast top-end full-year earnings despite reporting increased half year losses of £12m compared to £4m.
Founder and chief executive John Roberts said the firm's turnaround plan to strip out costs was paying off.
Meanwhile, Brent crude (BZ=F) bounced back to $89 a barrel after Saudi Arabia denied a report in the Wall Street Journal that oil producers were discussing a production increase for their next meeting, saying a cut approved last month would stay in place until the end of 2023.
BP (BP.L) shares have risen 6.52%, with North Sea producer Harbour Energy (HBR.L) up 7.05% and Shell (SHEL.L) climbing 4.84%.
"Saudi Arabia’s denial of the output increase contributed to a 12% round-trip in front-month Brent prices over the past 24 hours," Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, said.
"It is possible that the suggestions to expand Opec+ production were floated to gauge the price reaction. The initial negative follow-through implies that demand concerns warrant a relatively modest increase in output if Opec+ is looking to stabilise prices once the EU embargo kicks in."
However, traders have to digest the news from the OECD saying that the UK is set to be second-worst performing major economy next year.
New: @OECD forecasts UK economy will contract by 0.4% next year (biggest fall in GDP in G7) and will grow by only 0.2% in 2024 (weakest growth in G7).
Covid+war in Ukraine+Brexit = slow growth - a serious problem. Governments which can’t raise living standards come unstuck. pic.twitter.com/jBVpPKSJTo— Joel Hills (@ITVJoel) November 22, 2022
Read more: Two-decade UK wage stagnation to cost workers £15,000
In Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 (^N225) rose 0.61% to finish at 28,115 while the Hang Seng (^HSI) in Hong Kong tumbled 0.95% to 17,488. The Shanghai Composite (000001.SS) finished in the green, gaining 0.13% to 3,088 points.
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