At the close: Steady as she goes on the FTSE 100?
Markets were put through their paces today, but failed to hold onto early gains as the bad stories just kept on coming.
The FTSE 100 closed the day up 0.1 per cent at 6,117.25 after starting with a 40-point ascent in the first 90 minutes of trading. The French Cac 40 slipped back 0.3 per cent to 4,310.63 while the German Dax was unchanged at 9,829.61.
“While markets have stabilised after days of losses, there seems little that can revive bullish sentiment as the day heads to its close” said IG’s Chris Beauchamp.
[stockChart code="UKX" date="2016-05-05 16:59"]
It was all downhill after the early morning rise as some shocking data on the monthly services purchasing managers’ index which came in at a three-year low.
Disappointing results from the likes of Rolls-Royce, Inmarsat and Sage led to them all shedding at least two per cent, while there was no clear pattern to the day’s top climbers – BT, Pearson, Next and Antofagasta were all up at the top.
The story of the day was Centrica as its shares dropped nine per cent to 210p as it announced it was about to flood the market with a £770m shares issue.
Read more: The UK economy is slowing – and it’s not all down to Brexit
It was slightly less bleak across the pond.
“Generally positive corporate results helped US stocks rise in early trading, though low trading volumes in Europe and a surpassingly big jump in weekly jobless claims capped gains,” noted CMC Markets’ Jasper Lawler.
Oil prices had some energy behind them after wildfires in Canada disrupted production. Brent crude climbed two per cent, passing back above $45 a barrel.
In currencies, the euro was the big loser of the day after a note from the European Central Bank said it might yet cut interest rates further was taken as dovish, sending the single currency down 0.7 per cent to $1.14.