UK shares struggle for direction after Wall Street rally

Brent prices fell 4% yesterday afternoon after Saudi Arabia's decision to lower its official selling prices for February loadings. OPEC's leader usually makes the headlines for his ability to steer crude prices upwards. But weak demand doesn't offer much in the way of contortion to mask reality. Gas prices also plummeted yesterday in Europe, and all this is beginning to look like the signals of an economic slowdown. You know, the one everyone's talking about, but which has been a long time coming.

Energy shares underperformed while tech stocks outperformed. The FTSE 100 inched up 0.1%.

Black gold has stabilized this morning, but the FTSE 100 is struggling for direction after Wall Street rallied overnight, led by tech and pharmaceutical stocks.

Oxford Nanopore Technologies expects a 16% increase in 2023 revenue for its Life Science Research Tools, despite a slowdown in growth in some areas. The company anticipates revenue of £169.9 million, up from £146.8 million the previous year.

YouGov PLC has completed the acquisition of the Consumer Panel Services of GfK GmbH for €315 million, while BAE Systems has won a contract from the Commonwealth of Australia to upgrade its naval gun systems on its frigates.

Hays expects its half-year profit to be below market consensus expectations, citing a more difficult December with a decline in fees. 

GSK has offered $1.4 billion for Aiolos Bio, a company based in the United States and the United Kingdom that is developing a new drug to treat asthma. 

In other news, UK retailers report subdued Christmas spending according to the British Retail Consortium.

Things to read today:

• The cost of a war in Taiwan to the global economy? 10,000 bn (Bloomberg).
• Wall Street doubles down on bonds (Wall Street Journal).
• The AI octopus (Project Syndicate).
• UK Housing Market Gloom Is Overdone — Again (Bloomberg)