European stock markets were subdued on Thursday after a day of heavy losses the session before amid heightened expectations that interest rates will be cut later than previously hoped.
In London, the FTSE 100 (^FTSE) was 0.1% down after opening, while the CAC (^FCHI) gained 0.1% in Paris, and the Frankfurt DAX (^GDAXI) was trading flat.
“European markets posted their third successive daily decline as markets continued their New Year hangover, after the pre-Christmas euphoria of what was perceived as a December rate pivot from the Federal Reserve,” Michael Hewson of CMC Markets said.
“The FTSE 100 had its worst day since August sliding to its lowest levels since late November, dragged down by a combination of poor performance from real estate, basic resources and energy after disappointing Chinese economic data, and the prospect of rate cuts getting pushed further into 2024.
“In the last few days, we’ve seen a concerted effort from assorted central bankers in Europe, as well as the US to dial back the expectation of early rate cuts, while a surprise uptick in UK inflation and some solid US retail sales numbers torpedoed the idea that we would see early rate cuts in March.”
Across the pond losses were fairly contained last night despite the sharp rebound in yields. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) slipped 0.6%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq (^IXIC) was 0.6% lower. The Dow Jones (^DJI) lost almost 0.3% on the day.
The US dollar which initially rallied strongly to one-month highs, gave up most of its gains to close flat on the day.
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Bitcoin price falls a week after ETF approval
Bitcoin’s price has fallen by over 7% in the week since the US Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, approved multiple spot ETF filings.
A spot bitcoin ETF is a financial product that investors hope will open the gateway for mainstream capital to flood the crypto market.
There has been over $11bn (£8.67bn) in spot bitcoin ETF trading volume in the four days of trading since the funds were launched from Wall Street players, such as BlackRock (BLK) and Franklin Templeton (BEN).
However, over most of the past week the price of bitcoin (BTC-USD) has traded just below the $43,000 mark.
Bitcoin’s value has dropped by more than 7% from the brief highs observed shortly after the approval of the ETF, when the price exceeded $46,000 last Thursday.
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Train tickets from station twice as expensive as online
Travellers buying tickets at train station ticket machines are being charged up to double the price of a booking online, research shows.
A same-day, one-way ticket from Holmes Chapel in Cheshire to London cost £66 at the station’s ticket machine but online the same trip was £26, a 156% difference, according to consumer group Which?.
Someone buying a same day, one-way ticket from Northampton to Cardiff would have paid £107 for their ticket from the machine, 148% more than buying online, where the price was just £43.
Overall, fares purchased online were cheaper around three-quarters of the time, and on average, same day journeys cost 52% more from machines. In 2022, around 12% of tickets were purchased from a machine — some 150 million journeys.
Services offered by different ticket machines could vary significantly, with passengers often facing restricted choice and, as a result, higher prices.
One of the key reasons why tickets from machines are often more expensive is because most don’t offer “advance” fares — cheaper tariffs which are available to buy in advance of travel. Depending on the route, these can even be available up to 10 minutes before departure.
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Watch: How does inflation affect interest rates?
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