Closing summary
Stock markets on both sides of the Atlantic have gained after softer-than-expected US producer price figures, and as the global sell-off in government bonds came to a halt.
The UK’s FTSE 100 index bucked the trend though, trading 15 points, or 0.2%, lower at 8,208.
The bond sell-off pushed yields (which move inversely to prices) to multi-year highs over the last week, amid worries about the UK government’s plans to sell more debt and inflationary pressures in the UK and the US.
The British 10-year bond yield fell slightly to 4.887% today after hitting 4.925% last week, the highest since 2008 – bringing some relief to the chancellor, Rachel Reeves. The 10-year US Treasury yield also dipped, to 4.792% after hitting 4.805% yesterday, the highest since early November 2023.
A government sale of £1bn of inflation-linked gilts due in 2054 attracted solid demand today, but was on the most expensive terms since 2004, underscoring the cost to taxpayers from a recent sell-off in bond markets, which has pushed yields to multi-year highs.
A dip in oil prices also cheered investors. Brent crude, the global benchmark, is 46 cents lower at $80.56 a barrel, a 0.5% drop.
The pound is on track for its sixth day of declines, falling by 0.4% to $1.2155 against the dollar.
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Thank you for reading. We’ll be back tomorrow. Bye! – JK
Andrew Speke of the UK think tank the High Pay Centre, has sent us his thoughts on the Wellcome Trust paying its outgoing chief investment officer Nick Moakes £5m last year (see post at 11.02am GMT).
Those leading major non-profit organisations deserve to be paid well, as like with their counterparts in the private or public sector, these roles come with great responsibility.
That said, a figure of £5m is likely to be more than 100 if not 200 times the pay of Well come’s lowest paid workers, and it’s difficult to see how such a huge gap in pay can be morally justified or necessary in order to attract competent leaders.
