Nasdaq bounces but FTSE 100 edges lower

“Investors are switching up their trades today, moving back into growth stocks after the recent selloff while trimming their profits in the FTSE 100 after a good run for that index.”

Bargain hunters finally jump in

“A wave of buying has lifted US markets from the lows of the week, and a near-2% gain for the Nasdaq 100 suggests that the slump in that index over the past month has finally got some investors excited about the chance to go bargain-hunting in growth stocks. Of course, we’ve been here several times over the past two weeks, and of late early intraday bounces have then met with a wall of selling, but the news of a China rate cut has provided one piece of unexpected good news. Only time will tell us whether this bounce can last longer than others so far this month, and with a Fed meeting and tech earnings still to come in January it promises to be a bumpy ride.”

FTSE 100 a rare faller

“The pattern of the past few weeks has seen the UK’s top index make gains while US stocks struggle, something that has become quite rare in recent years. But that move has been reversed today, and for a second consecutive day the bevy of banks, miners and oil stocks that make up the index’s heavyweights is falling back. The theme of money moving to value names from growth stocks has taken a bit of a knock today, but as with the bounce in the US it is not yet clear that today’s reversal is going to turn into anything more sustained.”