(Alliance News) – London stock prices were dull at midday Friday as investors focused on developments in interest rates around the world.
Markets in Paris and Frankfurt were also lackluster, despite data showing that eurozone inflation was stable in April.
The FTSE 100 index fell 31.84 points, or 0.4%, to 8,406.81. The FTSE 250 fell 117.22 points (0.6%) to 20,705.62 and the AIM All Shares fell 0.98 points (0.1%) to 791.52.
The Cboe UK 100 fell 0.3% to 839.14, the Cboe UK 250 fell 0.4% to 18,075.55 and the Cboe Small Companies rose 0.1% to 16,317.13.
In European stock markets on Friday, Paris' CAC40 index fell by 0.4% and Frankfurt's DAX40 index fell by 0.3%.
The euro zone's annual inflation rate was stable in April, figures confirmed on Friday.
According to Eurostat, the euro zone's annual consumer price inflation rate was 2.4% in April, unchanged from March.
Core inflation, which excludes energy, food, alcohol and tobacco prices, rose 2.7% year-on-year in April, slowing from a 2.9% rise in March.
On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.6% in April, slowing from the 0.8% rise in March. Core consumer prices in April rose 0.7% from March. In March, it was up 1.1% from February.
“Eurozone headline and core inflation have both come down significantly from their peaks, but remain above the European Central Bank's target,” Lloyds analysts said.
There will be one more CPI announcement before the ECB announces its latest interest rate decisions on June 6th.
Across the pond, Wall Street had a mixed performance on Thursday, closing lower but hitting record levels throughout the day. Before closing lower, the Dow had hit a new all-time high of 40,051.05.
Markets are optimistic thanks to US inflation statistics. Year-over-year consumer price inflation slowed to 3.4% in April from 3.5% in March, as expected, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Wednesday.
The New York stock market opened lower on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 are both expected to fall 0.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite Index is expected to open modestly lower.
The pound was trading at $1.2653 at midday in London on Friday, compared with Thursday's closing price of $1.2671. The euro traded at $1.0843 against $1.0870. Against the yen, the dollar is trading at 155.87 yen compared to 155.26 yen.
On the FTSE 100, Land Securities fell 2.2%.
CEO Mark Allan said: “After a value reset over the past two years due to rising interest rates, evidence of stable interest rates and continued rental growth is starting to increase investor interest in our best assets. “There is,” he said.
The comments were made as the London-based commercial property development and investment company reported its financial results for the financial year ending in March.
Pre-tax loss for the year narrowed to £341m from £622m a year earlier. Revenue increased by 4.2% from £791m to £824m.
GSK fell 0.6% and Haleon fell 0.7%.
GSK announced it has agreed to sell its remaining stake in consumer healthcare company Haleon, which it spun out nearly two years ago.
GSK, based in Brentford, London, announced that it has agreed to sell a 4.2% stake, or approximately 385 million shares, in Surrey-based Haleon, which was spun off from GSK in July 2022. The shares are priced at 324p per share, raising the total amount raised at £1.25. The offering to institutional investors will generate gross proceeds of $1 billion.
On the FTSE 250, Tritax Big Box rose 0.2%.
Tritax reported an increase in rental income from development activity for the three months ended March 31 following its merger with a UK commercial real estate REIT.
The London-based real estate investment trust invests in large-scale distribution warehouses. The company completed its merger with the fellow FTSE 250 member on Thursday, following a final agreement for an all-share buyout in March.
In the first quarter before the merger, Tritax Big Box added £1.3m to annual contracted rents from 100,000 sq ft of developed rental properties and a further £7.4m to transferred rentals of 800,000 sq ft. said the company. Substantial completion several feet during the period.
On London's AIM, Cornish Metals' shares rebounded partially by 20% to 6.89p on Friday morning. The share price plunged 42% from 9.98p on Monday to 5.68p on Thursday.
The Vancouver-based mineral exploration company reassured investors that it was “not aware of any operational or corporate reasons for the price change.”
Brent crude oil was at $83.39 a barrel as of midday in London on Friday, up from $83.05 late Thursday. Gold price was US$2,384.90 per ounce, higher than US$2,381.33.
Although not yet on Friday's economic calendar, Federal Reserve President Christopher Waller is scheduled to speak.
Sophie Rose, Alliance News Senior Reporter
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