The Market Close - U.K. Retail Sales steady but unspectacular - Collins Sarri Statham Investments

Today's Closing Update

U.S. Shares were lower as investors fail to get excited by quarterly reports from big names like retailer Wal-Mart and technology bellwether Cisco Systems.

European and U.K. Shares were slightly lower, with bank shares dragged down by doubts about another U.S. interest rate hike in 2017.

UK retail sales increased in July as stronger spending on food offset a fall in the purchase of other goods, according to official figures. The volume of sales grew by 0.3% compared with June, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. However, the figure for June’s retail sales growth was revised down from 0.6% to 0.3%. The latest data shows that the volume of food sales rose by 1.5% in July, having fallen by 1.1% in June. The ONS said all other sectors saw a fall in volume sales apart from household goods. Ole Black, ONS senior statistician, said that overall it was a “relatively subdued picture” in retail sales”.

As the fallout between corporate leaders and President Donald Trump over his handling of white supremacist violence in Charlottesville worsened, Trump said he is scrapping two business advisory councils that were running out of strength. Eight members of the President’s American Manufacturing Council resigned since Sunday over the issue, while all members of the Strategic and Policy Forum agreed to quit the group Wednesday in condemnation of Trump’s defiant remarks about violence at the Charlottesville white nationalist rally. And within hours, Trump tweeted: “Rather than putting pressure on the businesspeople of the Manufacturing Council & Strategy & Policy Forum, I am ending both. Thank you all.”

BHP Billiton has approved a $2.54bn investment to extend the Spence copper mine life in Chile by at least 50 years. The board had approved the spending for the Spence Growth Option project, with chief executive officer Andrew Mackenzie saying that execution of option “will create long-term value for shareholders in one of our preferred commodities”. “The project significantly extends the life of our Spence operation and unlocks the potential of the large, quality resource.”

One of the most widely-followed gauges for the US jobs market revealed it continued to be in robust health. Initial jobless claims plummeted by 12,000 over the week ending 12 August to reach 232,000, according to the Department of Labor. Economists had forecast a reading of 240,000. Meanwhile, the four-week moving average, which aims to smoothe out the volatility in the figures from one week to the next, dipped by 500 to 240,500. Secondary unemployment claims, those which are not filed for the first time and referencing the week ended on 5 August fell by 3,000 to 1.953m.

European Central Bank policymakers raised concern over the appreciation of the euro in July, pointing out the risk of the exchange rate overshooting in the future, and stressed that the favorable financing conditions are still supported by the massive stimulus. “Concerns were expressed about a possible overshooting in the repricing by financial markets, notably the foreign exchange markets, in the future,” the bank said in the minutes, which it calls “the account”, of the July 20 rate-setting session released today.

Oil prices steadied after U.S. data showed a fall in crude stockpiles but also an increase in production, taking U.S. crude output to its highest in more than two years.

Gold continued higher, boosted by haven demand after U.S. President Donald Trump disbanded two business councils and minutes from the Federal Reserve’s meeting last month pointed to concerns over sluggish inflation.

Market Close

Market	Index	Change	% Change
UK 100	7387.9	-45.2	-0.6%
UK 250	19,773.1	-86.2	+0.4%
GER 30	12,208.7	-55.1	-0.5%
FRA 40	5,151.1	-25.5	-0.5%
U.S. 30	21,916.79	-108.08	-0.5%
U.S. 500	2,453.3	-14.8	-0.5%
OIL (BRENT)	50.74	+0.47	+0.9%
GOLD	1,284.55	+1.44	+0.1%

UK Risers & Fallers

Company	Price	Change	% Change
Fresnillo	1566	+58	+3.8%
Johnson Matthey	2820	+66	+2.4%
Hochschild	275.3	+15.9	+6.1%
Kingfisher	294.4	-13	-4.2%
Admiral Group	1993	-54	-2.6%
Hikma	1189.5	-139.5	-10.5%

Reported Economic Data

Time/Date	Previous	Forecast	Outcome
9:30am: U.K. Retail Sales m/m	0.6%	0.2%	0.3%
10:00am: European Final CPI y/y	1.3%	1.3%	1.3%
1:30pm: U.S. Unemployment Claims	244k	240k	232k