FTSE 100 Live 17 January: Index nears record, retail sales in surprise fall
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Retail sales volumes fell by 0.3% in December, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed today. The performance compared with City forecasts for 0.4% growth and the previous month’s improvement of 0.1%. Falls in supermarkets were partly offset by a rise in non-food stores, such as clothing retailers, which rebounded from weakness in recent months.
Sales volumes fell by 0.8% in the final quarter of 2024 compared with the third quarter but rose by 1.9% compared with a year earlier. The FTSE 100 index is seen moving closer to a record high after back-to-back sessions in which London’s top flight has risen 1%.
Futures trading points to a rise of about 50 points to 8442, not far from May’s intraday high of 8474 and the closing peak of 8445. Confidence has been boosted by China reporting its strongest annual growth rate in over a year, leading to a 2024 GDP figure in line with targets at 5%.
Wall Street shares weakened last night, led by a decline of 0.9% for the Nasdaq Composite. Banking stocks including Morgan Stanley had another strong session, boosted by the industry’s latest strong quarterly results. Brent Crude has risen to $81.61 a barrel, while the pound stood at $1.2217 prior to the release of December retail sales figures.
