RE: 1000p+ INCOMING20 May 2024 12:02
(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London got a boost at midday on Monday, as investors eye a key UK inflation reading later in the week, which is expected to show cooling prices.
Amongst individual stocks, gold miner Fresnillo was the top performer of the morning on the FTSE 100 index, climbing with hopes of interest rate cuts.
"Equity bulls around the globe celebrated in style the softer-than-expected US CPI data last week. The global equity rally was further juiced by the expectation that a softer inflation in the US would not only allow the Federal Reserve (Fed) to start cutting the rates this year, but also allow the other major central banks, like the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of England (BoE), to carry on with their plans to cut their own rates and β maybe β cut more than people think they could," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank.
As hopes for interest rate cuts climbed, gold hit a record high above USD2,450 an ounce earlier Monday. The precious metal was quoted at USD2,439.50 an ounce against USD2,407.63.
On the back of higher gold prices, gold miner Fresnillo rose 4.5%. It was the best FTSE 100 performer of the morning.
Investors this week are eyeing Wednesday inflation reading for the UK. It is expected to show that the rate of consumer price inflation moderated markedly to 2.1% in April, from 3.2% in March, according to FXStreet cited consensus.
If the reading comes in in line with expectations, hopes for an interest rate cut from the BoE will climb