The European market opened Tuesday in a negative note. All sectors, as well as the major exchanges, were down 0.4%.
The US Federal Reserve and Bank of England are set to make their announcements this week, which will have a major impact on global monetary policies.
On Tuesday the US Federal Reserve began its final two-day meeting for the year. The announcement of their monetary policy is expected to be made on December 18.
CME’s FedWatch tool shows that traders have priced in 95% of the probability of a rate reduction by a quarter point.
The market participants are closely watching the Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s press conference following his post-meeting to get an idea of future policy decisions.
The Bank of England is scheduled to meet Thursday.
Although the market does not expect any changes in rates, there is still a small possibility that a rate reduction will be made.
Commodity stocks lower FTSE 100
London’s FTSE 100 Index was down by 0.8% to 8,199.34, a loss of 62.71 point. Commodity-focused stocks weighed heavily on the index.
Shell shares fell by 44.5p at 2,414p. BP’s share price dropped to 379.45p. Glencore shares dropped 4.7p from 363.05p.
AstraZeneca, BAE Systems and other blue-chip companies also saw their shares fall, with AstraZeneca falling 140p (to 10,384p) and BAE Systems down 13.5p (1,183.5p), respectively.
Bunzl, a distribution and service firm, was the first to fall. Its stock dropped 5% (176p) or 3382p following a warning from Bunzl that if deflation persists it will have fewer operating profits in 2024.
The London Stock Exchange Group, on the other hand, rose by 70p, to 11,585p, following an upgrade. UBS rated it as “Buy”, with a price target of 13,500p.
Hollywood Bowl share prices fall 11%
The FTSE 250 Index also started lower. It lost 103.34 point to 20,709.69.
Hollywood Bowl, a laggard among the losers, saw its shares fall 11% (or 36p) to 297.5p after it announced its annual results.
Ten-pin Bowling Operator reported 7.1% increase in revenue to record PS230.4 Million for the fiscal year ended September 30.
The increase in National Insurance charges for employers is partly responsible for the decline of adjusted profit, which fell to PS45million.
It warned that the changes made in the UK budget recently would result in an increase of PS1.2million in its costs per year starting April.
Stephen Burns, the CEO of Burns, remained confident about long-term expansion, and plans to increase its property from 85 to 130 centers by 2035.
In the current fiscal year, four new sites in Canada and two in the UK are anticipated to be opened.
Bunzl falls 5%
Investors also questioned Bunzl, a distribution and service company. The company said that a persistent deflation will have only a small impact on the adjusted operating profit it achieves in 2024.
After the update, shares fell by 5% (178p) to 3,380p.
Frank van Zanten, the CEO of Frank van Zanten, highlighted that despite near-term challenges there was robust revenue growth driven by acquisitions as well as underlying performance.
In comparison to 2023, he expects a significant increase in the operating margin and profit.
Bunzl is optimistic that its growth will continue in 2025 thanks to acquisitions, and the steady demand for essential products and services.
The market has also been affected by the political unrest in Germany.
On Monday, Chancellor Olaf Scholz was defeated in a vote of confidence by the parliament. This sets up snap elections for February 23.
The move comes after the failure of his coalition last month.
On Tuesday, economic data were released in the UK and Germany. These included UK unemployment statistics and Ifo’s business climate and sentiment indexes. This provided new insights on two of Europe’s biggest economies.
The post European markets slide as central bank meetings dominate FTSE 100 is hit by commodities stocks could be updated as new information unfolds.
This site is for entertainment only. Click here to read more
