𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

The FTSE 100 closed lower on Monday as investors look ahead to UK inflation data, US nonfarm payrolls figures and results from chip maker Nvidia later this week.

The FTSE 100 index closed down 22.94 points, 0.2%, at 9,675.43.

The FTSE 250 ended 131.66 points lower, 0.6%, at 21,687.90, and and the Aim All-Share fell 2.06 points, 0.3%, at 744.45.

In European equities on Monday, the CAC 40 in Paris closed down 0.6%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt fell 1.2%.

“The tone remained cautious following a lacklustre performance across European markets last week, driven by renewed concerns around global growth and the sustainability of the AI-driven rally,” said David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation.

London had been further knocked by pre-budget jitters on Friday amid confusion over the Government’s tax policy, but Monday’s mood was far calmer with bond yields easing across the board.

Ahead of next week’s Budget, figures on Wednesday are likely to confirm that UK inflation has peaked.

In September, the annual consumer price inflation rate was 3.8%, unchanged from August, and below market forecasts which had predicted an acceleration to 4.0%.

In October, Barclays expects the consumer price inflation rate to have eased to 3.5% year-on-year, while the core rate should decelerate 0.1 percentage points to 3.4%.

“We expect that September represented the peak of the inflation hump, and our forecast embodies a continued disinflation towards target by Q2 26,” the broker said.

Sterling was quoted at 1.3169 dollars at the time of the London equities close on Monday, higher compared to 1.3158 dollars on Friday.

The euro stood at 1.1598 dollars, lower against 1.1617 dollars.

Against the yen, the dollar was trading higher at 155.12 yen, compared to 154.58 yen.

In New York, markets were lower at the time of the London equity market close.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.4%, as was the S&P 500 index.

The Nasdaq Composite declined 0.3%.

Events on Wall Street will be dominated by Nvidia earnings on Wednesday and the delayed release of nonfarm payrolls, as part of September’s jobs report, on Thursday.

Joshua Mahony at Scope Markets said: “Early estimates put the payrolls figure around 50,000, rising from the August reading of 22,000.

“From a market perspective, there is likely to be a “bad news is good news” reaction, as traders hope to see the Fed shift onto a more proactive mindset once again.”

Market hopes for a further US rate cut in December have been tempered in recent weeks after a series of ‘hawkish’ comments from Fed officials pushing back against the need for further near-term monetary easing.

Nonetheless, the decision remains finely balanced with the CME FedWatch tool placing a just under 43% chance of a quarter point reduction in December.

Mr Mahony added that said the main event of the week will “undoubtedly” come in the form of the Nvidia earnings release, “with the recent tech-led volatility highlighting how quickly sentiment can sour once valuation concerns start to see any level of justification”.

“We have grown accustomed to earnings outperformance from Nvidia, but markets will need to see a perfect scorecard if we are to see valuation concerns cast aside once again,” he suggested.

The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was at 4.13%, unchanged from Friday.

The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was also flat at 4.73%.

Back in London, WPP stormed 11% higher amid a report in the Sunday Times that French rival Havas, owned by the family of billionaire Vincent Bollore, has held discussions about the advertising agency and its assets.

Sunday Times sources also said that private equity firms Apollo and KKR have examined parts of the business.

3i rallied 5.1% as company executives continued to buy shares after last week’s stock price slump.

Management including the group’s chief executive, chief operating officer and finance director have picked up stock in the past few trading days worth £2.3 million.

Shares in 3i fell sharply last week after disappointing trading news from its main investment, Action.

In the red, Informa fell 2.4% as its capital markets day failed to inspire.

The event is being held in Dubai, where Informa is hosting a business-to-business commercial airshow.

Informa is aiming for “consistent” underlying revenue growth of at least 5%, as well as “faster underlying profit and underlying earnings growth”.

On the FTSE 250, HICL Infrastructure fell 5.8% after agreeing a combination with Renewables Infrastructure Group, which rose 5.3%.

The deal creates an investment firm with net assets above £5.3 billion.

Genuit plunged 14% after lowering full-year profit expectations amid “uncertainty” surrounding the impacts of next week’s UK Government Budget.

The Leeds-based provider of water, climate and ventilation systems for buildings and infrastructure lowered its full-year expectations for underlying operating profit to a range from £92 million to £95 million, compared with £95 million to £99 million previously.

The company attributed lower market volumes to “current subdued market conditions” resulting from “potential impacts” of the UK Government’s autumn Budget and the “current UK economic outlook”.

Brent oil was quoted lower at 64.46 dollars a barrel at the time of the London equities close on Monday, from 64.57 dollars late on Friday.

Gold traded lower at 4,071.30 dollars an ounce on Monday against 4,101.80 dollars on Friday.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were WPP, up 35.7 pence at 324.0p, Pershing Square Holdings, up 92.0p at 4,728.0p, SSE, up 43.0p at 2,269.5p, British American Tobacco, up 77.0p at 4,148.5p and 3i Group, up 54.0p at 3,388.5p.

The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Burberry Group, down 81.5p at 1,150.5p, JD Sports Fashion, down 3.9 pence at 78.5p, Endeavour Mining, down 116.0p at 3,186.0p, Informa, down 28.8p at 906.6p and Marks & Spencer, down 10.5p at 343.2p.

Tuesday’s global economic calendar has minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia meeting overnight and housing starts data in Canada.

Tuesday’s UK corporate calendar has full-year results from tobacco company Imperial Brands and supplier of specialised technical products and services Diploma.

– Contributed by Alliance News.