What happened yesterday?
London shares ended in the red on Wednesday, after figures published on Tuesday showed that consumer price inflation in the UK has risen to its highest level, 2.1%, in almost three years in June.
The FTSE 100 fell by 0.47% to end at 7,091.19, and the FTSE 250 ended the session down 0.77% at 22,750.04.
Sterling, on the other hand, was a mixed bag, as it last traded 0.1% weaker against the euro at €1.1718 but gained 0.3% on the dollar at $1.3856.
Meanwhile, in the US, stocks gave up early gains and turned mixed during trading on Wall Street on Wednesday, as second-quarter earnings from some of the biggest financial institutions – the likes of Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo – were published.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied by 0.13% to end at 34,933.23 while the S&P 500 was up by 0.12% to 4,374.30. The Nasdaq Composite dipped by 0.22% to 14,644.95.
In company news:
Slaughter and May, one of the UK’s top law firms, is testing a series of “switch on/off” schemes for its junior associates which include job shares, reduced hours and options for unpaid leave in a bid to combat staff burnout. (£)
Blackrock’s assets under management swelled to a record $9.5tn in the second quarter of 2021, as it reported a 32% year-on-year rise in revenue to $4.8bn.
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group agreed to pay $386m for a 4.9% stake in Jefferies, marking a return to US-focused M&A by Japanese banks after a hiatus of more than a decade.