Spreadex Market Update
FTSE falls as Q1 GDP and Fed meeting loom on the horizon; Barclays sees first quarter profit drop by 25%
Having teased 6300 for much of yesterday’s trading the FTSE has slipped back once again this morning, dipping by 0.3% after the bell. Yet it wasn’t just pre-Fed jitters hampering the index this Wednesday. The UK is also set to see it preliminary first quarter GDP figures later in the day, and if analysts’ expectations are to be believed it isn’t going to be a pretty sight, the forecasts suggesting growth of 0.3%. That’s half of what was seen in Q4 2015, withy many pointing the blame at the increased fears of a Brexit in the run-up to June’s referendum (now less than 2 months away). It remains to be seen, however, what material impact such concerns have actually had on the country’s GDP.
In terms of earnings Barclays was the main focus this Wednesday, yet despite its Q1 profits dropping by a worse than expected 25% to £793 million the bank still rose nearly 3% after the bell (jumping to £1.80 for the first time in nearly 3 months in the process). It seems that investors were pleased with the news that Barclays intends to speed up the sale of some of its French businesses, though it must be noted that the bank’s gains appear to be eroding as the morning continues.
The Eurozone indices were just as meek as the FTSE as the start of the session, the DAX and CAC dropping by 0.3% and 0.2% respectively. It is interesting that the former has seen an early fall given Germany’s decent morning for data, both the country’s import prices (at 0.7% compared to last month’s -0.6%) and GFK consumer climate (at a 7 month high of 9.7) beating estimates.
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