FTSE loses most of morning’s gains
The FTSE 100 has fallen back below 7300 and close to where it staerted the day, leaving it in danger of continuing its losing streak, as gilt yields rise further amid higher interest rate expectations.
Rate-sensitive stocks such as Ocado have been among the afternoon’s fallers.
Take a look at our key market data.
Santander cuts mortgage rates but experts warn price war may end soon
Santander has become the latest lender to cut its mortgage rates, while also adding new incentives to attract first-time buyers, but some experts warned that the price war may be coming to an end.
The lender – one of the “big six” that dominates the UK mortgage market – cut its residential and buy-to-let rates by between 0.02 percentage points and 0.2 percentage points.
In addition, Santander added new exclusive offers for first-time buyers, with a cashback option and no product fee.
The UK’s top lenders have been cutting mortgage rates after they rose dramatically from May to July, with all of the “Big Six” having cut prices on multiple occasions.
Tumblr CEO Matt Mullenweg on open-sourcing social media: How to be a CEO podcast
After taking WordPress from a small blogging site in the 2000s to an all-in-one website creation platform, which is now the backbone of around a third of all websites, Matt Mullenweg has now set his sights on social media.
Now as CEO of Tumblr, Matt reveals his plans to revamp the site, welcome disillusioned ex-Twitter and Reddit users, and create a social site that is, at its core, open-source.
Wind power returns to commercial shipping with trial of high-tech sails
Commercial shipping will once again use wind power, with several companies teaming up to demonstrate how a pair of high-tech sails can save fuel and cut carbon emissions.
The WindWings have been retrofitted onto the Pyxis Ocean, owned by Mitsubishi and chartered by Cargill, and engineers will be monitoring their performance during their first real-world test.
Designed by a team of British Olympic sailors under BAR Technologies and built by Yara Marine Tech, the WindWings are expected to save up to 30% of shipping fuel on average, although they cannot be fitted onto every ship, such as those loaded with containers or on routes with little wind.
Europe’s highest free viewing platform to open atop City skyscraper
Europe’s highest free public viewing gallery is to open in the City next month with dramatic vistas over the Square Mile’s growing forest of skyscrapers.
Horizon 22 on the 58th level of the 22 Bishopsgate tower – the tallest building in the City – will be launched on 27 September.
It will be open 7 days a week from 10am, closing at 6pm on weekdays, 5pm on Saturdays and 4pm on Sundays and Bank Holidays. Visitors will be whisked up in 41 seconds in one of the two high speed lifts travelling at up to 8 metres per second.
The gallery stands at 254 metres above ground.
UK house prices fell by £7,000 in August
Asking prices for homes in Britain tumbled in the biggest August fall since 2018 this month as soaring mortgage costs put buyers under pressure, according to a property website.
Average new seller asking prices fell by 1.9 per cent, or £7,012, on average to £364,895 in August, said Rightmove.
The fall is more than double the seasonal 0.9 per cent drop seen in August due to the traditional summer slowdown.
City Comment: How stubborn is inflation? A little-known formula might have the answer
How successful has the Bank of England been in reining in inflation?
If we go by the headline measure that fixates the City and most of the commentators, dear old CPI, the record does not look too bad.
By this yardstick inflation peaked at 11.1% in October last year and, going by last month’s figure of 6.8% is now roughly halfway back to the safety of the 2% target rate.
But is that telling us the whole story? We already know from the ONS’s publication of “core inflation” that the underlying rise in prices — excluding energy bills and other more volatile items — is proving far more sticky than that.
Today, though, the ONS publishes an even more sophisticated model that aims to strip out all the background “noise” to tell the real story about what it calls “persistence” in consumer prices inflation, or officially, the “common component inflation rate”.
Australian strike fears lift natural gas prices
Natural gas prices surged in European markets today on fears Australian production could be disrupted by a strike. Benchmark prices were up by as much as 9% in early trading, raising worries that consumer bills could stay higher longer as the northern hemisphere goes into the autumn.
Australian unions have given employer Woodside Energy until close of business on Wednesday to come up with an improved pay offer before giving seven days notice of industrial action.
The latest tremors in the energy market come ahead of Friday’s Ofgem announcement of the latest cap on average energy bills.
Oil giants help FTSE 100, Tesco shares rally
Shell and BP supported the FTSE 100 index today as frustration continued over China’s reluctance to inject major stimulus into its economy.
The country’s central bank cut its one-year loan rate by 0.1% to a record low of 3.45% but the move underwhelmed Asia markets, with the Hang Seng index further into bear market territory following a decline of 1.8%.
Hargreaves Lansdown’s head of money Susannah Streeter said: “There is still some expectation that Chinese authorities will step in with a more generous boost, but it appears the weakness of the yen appears to be stemming more immediate action.”
The FTSE 100 index made progress after a six-day losing streak, but the improvement was a modest 31.32 points at 7,293.75. The performance owed much to the support of the energy sector after a jump for natural gas prices caused by strike action in Australia.
Brent Crude also traded above $85 a barrel as signs of tighter supply conditions more than outweighed the uncertainty over faltering China demand.
BP shares rose 2% or 7.9p to 481.35p and Shell lifted 27p to 23487p, while British Gas owner Centrica continued its recent rise to stand 1.5p higher at 144.65p.
Other stocks on the FTSE 100 risers board included Tesco after UBS analysts forecast strong profit growth ahead of October’s half-year results.
Shares rose 4.2p to 253.9p as the bank reiterated a 300p price target, adding that shares are at a “very attractive entry point” as attention shifts from deflation concerns back towards the supermarket’s consistently strong trading.
Positive City comment also benefited HSBC, which added 1.8p to 585.7p after Jefferies said recent weakness for shares as part of a ‘shadow China’ sell-off had presented a buying opportunity. It upgraded its price target to 1000p.
Unlike London’s top flight, the UK-focused FTSE 250 remained in the red after a further decline of 44.02 points to 18,052.58.
Fallers included the publisher Future, which has significant online operations in the United States. The stock fell 24p to 736.5p amid fears that interest rates will stay higher for longer.
Market update as FTSE climbs higher
The FTSE 100 has climbed higher today after modest early gains, as it heads back towards the 7300 mark.
Take a look at our latest market snapshot.
