FTSE 100 down, Plus500 5% up
The FTSE 100 index is 22 points lower at 7174 amid another difficult session for mining and commodity-focused stocks.
Anglo American and Antofagasta fell 2% in response to another drop in copper prices to levels last seen more than 18 months ago.
Selling pressures also affected retail and office lessors, with British Land and Land Securities falling 2% in the FTSE 100 and Hammerson down 5% in the FTSE 250 index.
The top board of the flight climbers offered further gains for power companies Centrica and SSE after the government suspended plans for a windfall tax on power generators.
British Gas owner Centrica rose half a cent to 83.3 pence and SSE increased 13.5 pence to 1759.5 pence.
The FTSE 250 index was 55 points lower at 18,781, with trading company Plus500 the biggest gainer after forecasting full-year results that beat market expectations. Shares in the contracts-for-difference provider were up 5% or 78p to 1640p.
Online retailers are shrinking as shoppers cut spending
Today’s figures from the British Retail Consortium and KPMG show that online retail sales fell 9% last month, with home-related purchases experiencing the largest declines.
The anniversary weekend provided some relief for food and beverage retailers as sales grew nearly 1.5% year-on-year despite rising costs for most items.
Total retail sales fell for the third straight month, although the 1% decline was against a strong June 2021 and a backdrop of unprecedented price increases.
BRC CEO Helen Dickinson said: “Retailers are caught between significantly increasing costs in their supply chains and protecting their customers from price increases.
“Governments need to get creative and find ways to alleviate some of this cost pressure – the upcoming transition lighting consultation is a golden opportunity to ensure retailers don’t overpay on their corporate rate bills.
“Governmental transitional lighting measures would make a significant difference to retailers’ costs and ease pricing pressure on customers.”
Markets weaken ahead of US earnings season
Global equity markets remain under pressure as attention shifts to the start of the US earnings season.
PepsiCo will begin publishing quarterly earnings today ahead of Wall Street’s opening bell, with banking giants JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and Wells Fargo set to follow on Thursday and Friday.
Meanwhile, US futures markets are pointing lower after a weak session on Monday, with the S&P 500 falling more than 1% and the Nasdaq losing more than 2%.
Fears of a return of Covid lockdowns in China meant the FTSE 100 index fell 1% in early trades yesterday, before a recovery ended largely unchanged. CMC Markets today expects London’s top flight to open 40 points lower at 7156.
Meanwhile, the US dollar continues to gain strength after the dollar recently hit a 20-year high against a basket of currencies and approached parity against the euro. Sterling stood at $1,185 today, after falling 0.35% overnight.
In addition to its appeal as a safe haven in a time of inflation and economic uncertainty, the dollar was boosted by expectations of further sharp hikes in US interest rates. Further movement is expected on Wednesday, when US inflation data for June will show a new 40-year high of 8.8%.