The FTSE 100 slid back yesterday, driven by poor performances from the big supermarkets after Tesco reported a record loss. The index closed down 0.5% at 7,028.
Tesco’s £6.4bn loss led to a 5.2% slide in the share price. Morrisons followed suit with a 4.1% loss, and Sainsbury’s fell 3.7%.
In European markets, the Paris CAC 40 rose 0.4% to 5,211, and the German Xetra Dax lost 0.6% to 11,867.
In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 each rose 0.5% to 18,038 and 2,107 respectively, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.4% higher at 5,035.
Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.3% to 20,187, and the broader Topix index added 0.2% to 1,624. And in China, the Shanghai Composite gained 0.4% to 4,414, and the CSI 300 was one point higher at 4,740.
Brent spot was trading at $62.42 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $55.87. Spot gold was trading at $1,188 an ounce, silver was at $15.81 and platinum was at $1,128.
In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.4979 and against the euro at 1.4025. The dollar was trading at 0.9363 against the euro and 119.82 against the Japanese yen.
And in the UK, bookmaker William Hill reported a fall in profits for the first quarter of the year. Operating profit fell by 19%, which it said was due to an increase in gambling duties and one “horrible” week of football results in January.