Global stocks fell mostly lower on Wednesday after UK inflation data dashed hopes of a rapid rate cut from the Bank of England, while Federal Reserve minutes highlighted the concerns about continued price pressure.
London stocks closed lower and the pound jumped on news that Britain’s consumer price index rose 2.3 percent in April, slower than the previous month but beating expectations analysts by 2.1 percent.
“This was disappointing news and markets reacted quickly to dismiss hopes of a rate cut in June. It now looks like September is the most likely,” said David Morrison, senior analyst at Trade Nation.
U.S. stocks traded sideways for much of the day after a bearish session on major Asian and European exchanges.
But U.S. indexes fell into the red after Fed minutes showed policymakers frustrated by the lack of progress in bringing inflation back toward the central bank’s 2% target.
Disappointing inflation data and strong first-quarter economic numbers led them to conclude that “it would take longer than expected” to be sure inflation was slowing, the Fed said.
Patrick O’Hare, an analyst at Briefing.com, said the concerns were not surprising given the Fed’s mood at the May 1 meeting, but that the release served as a pretext for investors to sell after a strong rally since the meeting.
The three main American indices finished lower, including the Nasdaq, which lost 0.2%, after two records.
Anticipation was high before the start of the day due to the results of the high-flying Nvidia artificial intelligence.
The chipmaker’s stock price is up 90% in 2024 on its high-end processors prized by companies looking to get ahead in the booming artificial intelligence sector.
Nvidia reported a profit of $14.9 billion on revenue of $26 billion in the recently ended quarter, two multiples of what it made in the same period a year earlier .
Shares rose 3.5 percent in after-hours trading.
Elsewhere, food and clothing retailer Marks & Spencer rose 3.7 per cent on a strong earnings report, but that was not enough to lift London’s overall FTSE 100 index.
Anglo American rose 0.4 percent after the London-listed company rejected BHP’s latest offer but left the door open for further talks.
Target fell 8.0 percent after reporting a 3.7 percent drop in comparable sales in the first quarter. The big-box retailer called the results in line with expectations.
Moderna jumped 13.7% after announcing it had been approved to present abstracts at the 2024 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, which begins May 31 in Chicago.
Copper prices fell for a second day as traders took profits on a rally that took it above $11,000 a tonne.
– Key figures around 2040 GMT –
New York – Dow Jones: DOWN 0.5 percent to 39,671.04 (closing)
New York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.3 percent to 5,307.01 (close)
New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 0.2 percent to 16,801.54 (close)
London – FTSE 100: FALL 0.6 percent to 8,370.33 points (closing)
Paris – CAC 40: FALL OF 0.6% to 8,092.11 (closing)
Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.3% to 18,680.20 (closing)
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.4 percent to 5,025.17 (closing)
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.9 percent to 38,617.10 (closing)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.1 percent to 19,195.60 (closing)
Shanghai – Composite: FLAT at 3,158.54 (closing)
Dollar/yen: RISING to 156.75 yen from 156.17 yen on Tuesday
Euro/dollar: DOWN to $1.0826 from $1.0854
Pound/dollar: UP to $1.2717 from $1.2709
Euro/pound: DOWN to 85.10 from 85.40 pence
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.4% to $77.57 per barrel
North Sea Brent: DOWN 1.2% to $81.90 a barrel
