FTSE 100 Live 16 January: GDP up 0.1% in November, Taylor Wimpey posts update
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The lacklustre performance of the UK economy continued in November after figures today showed GDP edged up 0.1% in the month. The estimate by the Office for National Statistics compared with the City consensus of 0.2% and followed a decline of 0.1% the previous month.
The year-on-year performance slowed to 1% from 1.1% in October. Separate figures showed industrial production declined by 0.4% compared with hopes for a small improvement in November. Strong banking sector results and in-line inflation figures last night helped Wall Street shares post their best session of the year to date.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.7%, with JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup among the shares higher on the back of quarterly earnings. The S&P 500 index lifted 1.8% and the Nasdaq by 2.5% after rate cut hopes were boosted by a drop in core prices alongside an inflation reading of 2.9%.
The FTSE 100 index finished 1.2% higher and the FTSE 250 index jumped 2.9%, having earlier been cheered by a surprise drop in the UK inflation rate. London’s top flight is due to open today’s session flat at 8300, while the pound stood at $1.2219 prior to the release of the GDP estimate for December.
