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.
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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)