The FTSE 100 was down 1.08% and the FTSE 250 was down 2.05% as the Bank of England hiked interest rates – in tune with other central banks around the world. The Bank of England warned that Britain’s economy was already in a technical recession after it estimated the economy would shrink 0.1% in the third quarter of 2022, partly thanks to the unexpected Bank Holiday for Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral.
Joshua Mahony, senior market analyst at IG said, “Today has seen another bout of downside for stock markets throughout Europe and the US, with geopolitical and economic concerns providing a drag on risk assets once again.”
“On a week dominated by central banks, it was always going to be difficult to envisage a scenario where traders emerge with a positive outlook. Volatility has come from a variety of sources, with the aftereffects of yesterday’s FOMC monetary policy meeting coming into play alongside a Russian nuclear war warning, BoJ JPY intervention, and a BoE rate decision.”
Despite the smaller-than-expected interest rate rise from the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee.
Today’s fallers included JD Sports (GB:JD) which fell on disappointing results, and gainers included miners such as Glencore (GB:GLEN) which rose as metal prices gained from the weaker dollar.
British business news today
Bank of England prepares for tug-of-war with Treasury (FT)
Bumpy ride for Sterling (Times)
Overzealous central banks are making a horrible mistake (Telegraph)
