The UK stock market showed mixed results on 10/18/24 with the FTSE 100 dropping 03% and the FTSE 250 rising 02%. This movement came after the FTSE 100 had reached its highest point since late May the previous day
British American Tobacco experienced a 32% decline following a $236 billion settlement (along with Philip Morris and Japan Tobacco) to resolve a long-standing tobacco lawsuit in Canada. This settlement had a significant impact on the blue-chip index
Despite the overall dip‚ some sectors saw gains. Precious metal miners increased by 17%‚ matching golds record-high prices. Industrial metal miners also rose 13%‚ boosted by Chinas new stimulus measures which pushed up copper prices
Unexpectedly British retail sales grew 03% in September‚ contradicting predictions of consumer caution due to potential tax increases before the governments upcoming budget
The markets performance this week was largely driven by Wednesdays inflation data‚ which showed a decrease to 17% – below the Bank of Englands 2% target. This strengthened expectations for a rate cut on 11/7/24‚ with traders estimating an 87% chance of a 25 basis point reduction
In company news Future PLC saw a nearly 20% drop after announcing its CEO would step down next year. Conversely‚ Dowlais surged 115% following an upgrade by BNP Paribas. Boohoo experienced an 84% decline as its CEO announced his departure and the company revealed plans for a strategic review that might lead to its break-up
Both the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 ended their two-week losing streaks‚ with the FTSE 100 having its strongest weekly performance in over two months