UK investors trade cautiously as debt ceiling talks return

The FTSE 100 struggled for direction yesterday after the Office for National Statistics published data showing a surprise increase in the unemployment rate to 3.9% in Q1, while 3.8% was expected by economists. Headline wage growth, excluding bonuses, was slightly up to 6.7% year-on-year. Vodafone announced 11,000 job cuts. The FTSE 100 ended the day 0.3% lower.

As investors wait for new developments in the US debt celling talks, the blue-chip index opened slightly in the red.

Among stocks, Shares of the London Stock Exchange Group dropped 4.0% after Blackstone and Thomson Reuters sold around 2.7 billion pounds worth of its shares, according to Barclays.

Credit scoring firm Experian fell 4.5% after it unveiled a lower-than-expected revenue guidance.

 

Things to read today:

Bosses of failed US Banks refuse to hand back millions of dollars in pay (Financial Times)

Fed’s Bostic Says “Hard Part” Still Ahead if Inflation Stubborn (Bloomberg)