The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
London markets are lower at close amid waning consumer confidence
“There are still those looking for a bounce for oversold markets
The FTSE lost ground for the first time in weeks as weak consumer confidence figures from the US stalled trading.
The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index struck its lowest reading since February last year, adding to growing fears of recession.
London was more robust than other international markets, however, amid increases for oil majors after crude prices nudged higher.
The FTSE 100 ended the day down 11.09 points, or 0.15%, at 7,312.32.
“It has been one of those closely-fought days between buyers and sellers,” commented Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst IG.
He said: “There are still those looking for a bounce for oversold markets, but their task has been complicated by Tuesday’s gloomy confidence data and the pressure that has piled on the market.
“It does look like we are still in the first phase of this bear market, where indices are prepared to drop on the slightest bit of bad news, and any rally is short-lived.”
Across the Channel, the impact of this drop was particularly sharply felt.
The German Dax decreased by 1.68% by the end of the session, while the French Cac slid by 0.98%.
In the US, Wall Street was unsurprisingly jittery and edged slightly lower after the bell.
Meanwhile, sterling benefited from caution in the US dollar.
The pound was up 0.1% against the dollar at 1.213 and was up 0.15% against the euro at 1.158.
In company news, discount retail group B&M European Value finished the day higher, despite revealing a another slump in sales.
The group said like-forlike sales tumbled 9.1% across its 705 UK stores in the quarter to June 25 but said this included improvement in the most recent weeks and held firm on financial guidance for the year.
In retail, value shoe seller Shoe Zone had a strong session.
It expects to post adjusted pre-tax profits of roughly £8.5 million for the financial year. The retailer saw its shares rise 20p to 175p at the end of the session.