FTSE pulls back into the weekend

The FTE 100 is trading flat on the day after some selling yesterday afternoon saw the market hand back a fair amount of the gains seen in the early part of the week. The benchmark reached a 1-month high on Wednesday but has since been hit with some selling and a red close this evening would mark a third consecutive daily decline. The pound looks set for a lower weekly close with only the US dollar faring worse amongst the G10 space, with some supportive economic data for sterling this week failing to provide a substantial boost. 

BoE stand pat; GBP awaits next move

The final Bank of England (BOE) rate decision of the year was fairly uneventful with the 9 member MPC voting unanimously to keep rates on hold at 0.5%. In the absence of any further economic forecasts or a press conference the expectations were low heading into the event and whilst there was a initial dip in the pound - probably on a line in the statement which said that the MPC still expect inflation to peak around now - sterling recovered and ended the day a little higher. The week just gone has been a busy one on the economic data front from the UK but despite another rise in inflation according to the latest CPI reading and a better than expected retail sales number the pound has failed to find a clear direction.

H&M stock plunges 15%

High Street retailer H&M has seen almost a sixth of its market valuation wiped off after the Swedish clothing retailer lost more ground to rival Zara. H&M reported the biggest drop in quarterly sales in more than ten years this morning with fewer customers visiting stores and the news has caused the firm to reign in expansion plans and now possibly even consider closures. The plight is a familiar tale amongst bricks-and-mortar retailers who have struggled of late on both sides of the Atlantic due to the growth seen in e-commerce. Rival Inditex, the owner of the Zara brand, has expanded aggressively into the space and reported a double-digit rebound in revenue growth for November and early December.

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