FTSE 100 higher and US stocks slip again as traders look to central bank meetings

In This Article:

The FTSE 100 and European stocks ticked upwards on Tuesday, while US stocks retreated, as tensions flare again in the Middle East and traders look to central bank meetings later in the week.

On Tuesday, the Hamas-run health ministry said that more than 400 people were killed overnight in air strikes by Israeli forces.

The strikes end a ceasefire which came into effect on 19 January and after talks to extend the ceasefire failed to reach an agreement.

Commodity-related stocks, oil prices and gold rallied in response.

  • The FTSE 100 (^FTSE) rose 0.2% by the closing bell in London. Among top gainers were miners Antofagasta (ANTO.L) as well as oil major BP (BP.L).

  • Germany's DAX (^GDAXI) rose 0.8%, as the country's ZEW economic survey beat expectations.

  • The CAC 40 (^FCHI) in Paris ticked up 0.4%, while the pan-European STOXX 600 (^STOXX) rose 0.5%.

  • US stocks fell, as traders look to the two-day Federal Reserve rate-setting meeting, which commences today. The Bank of England's monetary policy committee also meets this week, with announcements on the rate path due on Thursday.

  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) and S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell about 0.7% and 1%, respectively. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) sank 1.6% lower.

  • Uncertainty still dogs markets as investors debate whether the sell-off that pushed the S&P 500 into correction territory is over. Many on Wall Street don't think the recent bump in stocks signals a clear bottom, amid concerns that president Donald Trump's trade war will hit already weakening economic growth.

LIVE COVERAGE IS OVER 16 updates
  • Thanks for reading!

    Head over to our US site for more market moving news. That's it from me.

  • Intel share price takes another leg up

    Shares in chipmaker Intel rose 2.2% on Monday, after a near-7% bump on Monday, as Lip-Bu Tan prepares to take on the role of CEO.

    The stock surged last week after it was announced that chip industry veteran Tan, who has previous served on Intel's board, was taking the helm. Tan is taking over from interim co-CEOs David Zinsner and Michelle Johnston Holthaus. The duo succeeded former CEO Pat Gelsinger, who was ousted by Intel's board in late 2024.

    Reuters reported on Monday that Tan has considered major changes to Intel's chip manufacturing methods and its AI strategy in a bid to turnaround the struggling technology giant.

    At a town hall last week, Tan reportedly told employees that Intel would need to make some "tough decisions".

    Last year, Intel posted an annual loss of $19bn, which marked its first since 1986, according to Reuters.

  • Siemens to cut jobs

    Here's Reuters with the info:

  • How US stocks are faring at the opening bell

  • Tesla shares continue freefall

    Vicky McKeever writes:

    Shares in electric vehicle company Tesla (TSLA) fell 4.8% on Monday, with the stock now down 41% since the start of the year.

    Shares have halved in value, as of Monday's closing price of $238, since hitting an all-time high closing price of $479.86 in December on the back of US president Donald Trump's election win.

    Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk has faced increasing backlash over his involvement with the Trump administration, heading up the the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). His cost-cutting initiative across federal agencies, seeing mass layoffs, has sparked protests at Tesla dealerships across the US.

    Meanwhile, data released last month has shown falling sales in Tesla (TSLA) in Europe, where Musk has also made high-profile inventions in politics.

    The Financial Times reported on Tuesday, that short sellers had made $16bn in profit from betting against Tesla (TSLA) shares.

    Tesla shares were down nearly 1% in pre-market trading on Monday, which came as Chinese EV maker BYD (002594.SZ) unveiled a new ultra-fast five-minute charging system.

  • Pound hits highest level since November against dollar

    The pound is higher against the dollar in early European trading, touching $1.30, a level it had not breached since November.

    The uptick is largely attributed to a weaker dollar, which has come under pressure in recent weeks. The US dollar index (DX-Y.NYB), which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, is down almost 6% from a two-year peak set in mid-January amid worries that Donald Trump's tariffs and retaliatory measures from other countries could push the US economy into a recession.

    Volatility around sterling is expected this week, particularly with the Bank of England’s upcoming policy meeting on Thursday. Investors will be keenly watching for any indications on interest rates, with expectations that the central bank will keep rates unchanged at 4.5%.

    Meanwhile, sterling was lower against the euro (GBPEUR=X) on Tuesday morning, at €1.1870.

  • Trustpilot rallies

    Trustpilot is rallying in early trade in London, up around 1% as of the time of writing.

    AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould said:

  • Bank of England poised to hold UK interest rates amid Trump trade war

    Pedro Goncalves writes:

    The Bank of England (BoE) is widely expected to keep interest rates steady at 4.5% on Thursday, as it navigates the fallout from US president Donald Trump’s trade war and mixed signals from the UK economy.

    Since August last year, the BoE has been gradually reducing borrowing costs, offering some relief to mortgage holders. At its February meeting, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted 7-2 in favour of a rate cut to 4.5%.

    However, governor Andrew Bailey has stressed the importance of a “gradual and careful approach” to further rate cuts.

    Markets indicate a 95% chance of a rate hold this month, with a 77% probability of a cut at the MPC’s May meeting and a 55.6% likelihood of a reduction in August. This marks a significant shift from January, when traders only expected one rate cut for the year, in February, according to Morningstar.

    Read more on Yahoo Finance UK

  • Metaverse headsets, yoga mats and pulled pork added to UK inflation 'shopping basket'

    In a yearly update to the basket of items the Office for National Statistics (ONS) uses to calculate UK price rises, pulled pork, virtual reality headsets and yoga mats have been added to the calculation, while local newspaper adverts and DVD rental prices have been taken out.

    The virtual basket contains over 700 carefully selected items representative of the goods and services that consumers typically spend their money on.

    The inflation basket is updated once a year by the ONS to take account of the changing tastes and habits of UK consumers and to ensure the official yardstick of the cost of living is as accurate as possible. This year, VR headsets make their way into the basket for the first time.

    "As a rapidly emerging technology, we have seen growing expenditure on this item, which is expected to continue," the ONS said.

    Read more on Yahoo Finance UK

  • China's growth push

    China announced a plan to "boost consumption" over the weekend. Neil Wilson, analyst at TipRanks, breaks it down:

  • Nvidia stock futures push higher in premarket

    Nvidia stock futures are currently up around 0.7% ahead of the GTC.

  • What to watch at Nvidia's GTC conference

    Our US team writes:

    Nvidia (NVDA) kicks off its annual GTC conference on March 18 with a keynote by CEO Jensen Huang from the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. The event, which runs through March 21, will feature workshops and training for developers and engineers, panels and discussions related to AI and robotics, and exhibits from companies showing off how they're using Nvidia's products in the real world.

    Huang is expected to debut the company's latest flagship AI chip: the Blackwell Ultra. A souped-up version of Nvidia's existing Blackwell chip, Blackwell Ultra should get a performance boost over last year's chip to further speed up training and running AI models.

    We should also learn more about Nvidia's next-generation GPU platform, dubbed Rubin, and the successor to its Grace line of CPUs, Vera. The combined superchip will be called Vera Rubin, named for the American astronomer, and will take the place of the current Grace Blackwell superchip at the top of Nvidia's hierarchy of AI processors.

    During Nvidia's fourth quarter earnings call, Huang teased that he'd also discuss the follow-up to Rubin. Nvidia, like most chip companies, is known for providing a broad look at its roadmap to help customers and developers prepare for their upcoming products.

    Read more on Yahoo Finance

  • Gold heads above $3,000

    Gold (GC=F) continues to hover around the $3,000 all-time high. Haven demand continues to be pushed worldwide as market volatility rattles investors. It hit its stride in early trade, eheading 0.7% higher.

    Bloomberg reported:

  • Here's the US stock futures chart

  • US stock futures dip as Fed kicks off two-day policy meeting

    From our US team:

    US stock future slide after Wall Street digested a second day of gains and braced for the Federal Reserve's next policy meeting.

    Futures attached to the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) fell 0.2%, the benchmark S&P 500 (ES=F) slid 0.3%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (NQ=F) slumped 0.5%.

    On Monday, stocks continued to recover from last week's sell-off, which saw the S&P 500 enter correction territory amid concerns about the US economy's ability to sustain President Donald Trump's trade war.

    Wall Street's attention is now turning to the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting, which kicks off on Tuesday. The central bank will announce its next monetary policy decision Wednesday.

    Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has said that the central bank will exercise caution when it comes to rate cuts and seek out more economic data. The Fed is largely expected to hold rates steady this week.

  • Food morning!

    Hello from London. Lucy Harley-McKeown here, ready to bring you the latest business news and updates on what's moving markets.

    This morning there'll be UK consumer price updates, as well as new information about what's changed in the way the ONS calculates price rises for goods.

    Today will also bring the German ZEW economic survey and data on US housing.

    Let's get to it.