Closing summary
A recap –
Stock markets in Europe and the US are deep in the red as Wednesday’s rally proved short-lived. The UK’s FTSE 100 index has lost 110 points, or 1.5%, to 7,080, while the German and French markets have closed almost 3% lower, the Italian market has lost more than 4% and the Spanish index fell 1.3%. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones and S&P 500 are both trading 1.3% lower while the Nasdaq is down 2.2%.
The ECB’s announcement that it will terminate its asset purchase programme – a massive economic stimulus– sooner than expected has sent eurozone bond yields soaring. The central bank now intends to end it in the July to September quarter, depending on how economic data turn out, and said it would raise interest rates some time after that. Increases will be “gradual,” it said.
The central bank raised its inflation projections while cutting its growth outlook because of the war in Ukraine, which has sparked a surge in energy and other commodity prices. The ECB described it as a “watershed for Europe” and president Christine Lagarde said central bankers were working hard on a package of support measures for Ukraine, possibly including a currency swap line.
Propelled by surging costs for gas, food and housing, US consumer inflation climbed to an annual rate of 7.9% last month, the sharpest rise since 1982, with even higher price increases to come.
The Chelsea football club owner, Roman Abramovich, is among seven of Russia’s wealthiest and most influential oligarchs who have been hit with sanctions by the UK, in an effort to further punish allies of Vladimir Putin over the invasion of Ukraine. The asset freeze means the sale of Chelsea FC has been halted.
Shares in the Russian steel company Evraz that is 29% owned by Roman Abramovich have been suspended on the London Stock Exchange by the City watchdog.
A host of major companies have joined the corporate exodus from Russia, including the Japan’s Uniqlo, Sony, Nintendo and Hitachi, as well as the Wall Street bank Goldman Sachs.
Our other main stories:
Marks & Spencer’s chief executive, Steve Rowe, is stepping down in May after nearly 40 years at the business he joined straight from school.
Rowe, who has spent six years overseeing the beginnings of a turnaround in the retailer’s fortunes after years in the doldrums, is to be replaced by the boss of its food business, Stuart Machin.
Thank you for reading. We’ll be back tomorrow. Take care – JK
Updated
The ECB’s announcement that it will end its asset purchase programme – a massive economic stimulus designed to help European economies weather the Covid-19 pandemic – sooner than expected has sent eurozone bond yields soaring.
The central bank now intends to end it in the July to September quarter (depending on how economic data turn out), and said it would raise interest rates some time after that. Increases will be “gradual,” it said.
Eurozone bonds sold off, and yields (returns to investors, which move inversely to prices) rose after the announcement. Two-year bond yields in Italy – a key beneficiary of the bond-buying programme – surged more than 20 basis points while German 10-year bond yields jumped 10 basis points to three-week highs.
The euro rose initially before dipping, and stock markets remained deep in the red.
The central bank raised its inflation projections while cutting its growth outlook because of the war in Ukraine, which has sparked a surge in energy and other commodity prices. The ECB described it as a “watershed for Europe” and president Christine Lagarde said it was working hard on a package of support measures for Ukraine, possibly including a currency swap line.
Updated
