The FTSE 100 struggles for direction

PMIs in Europe showed that the European economy is cooling and so investors expect the ECB to hold rates at current levels on Thursday and the Bank of England to do the same next week. Metal prices rose amid new rumours that China could come up with a new government stimulus. The FTSE 100 ended the session 0.2% higher.

According to a poll of economists and investors carried by Reuters, the Bank of England should keep its rate at 5.25% on November 2. Investors also mainly expect that the BoE won’t start cutting rates before September 2024.

The FTSE was struggling for direction this morning, as Lloyds reiterated its full-year guidance in its earnings report for the third quarter. For the first nine months of the year, its profit jumped 46% to £4.3 billion.

Lloyds Bank also said it believes that Britain will avoid a recession, growing by 0.4% this year and by 0.5% the next.

Reckitt Benckiser fell 4% despite launching a £1 billion share buyback and highlighting "strong cashflows and a healthy balance sheet".

Overnight, Microsoft posted strong results, with revenues up 13% to $56.5 billion. Meanwhile, Alphabet posted lower-than-expected cloud division revenues and fell 6%.

Things to read today:

Rift at Top Exposes EU Struggle to Keep Pace With Global Powers (Bloomberg)

G.O.P. Nominates Mike Johnson for Speaker After Spurning Emmer (NYTimes)