Market Analysis

London stocks opened lower on Wednesday as higher U.S. bond yields weighed on global equities. The FTSE 100 .FTSE started the day down 0.1% at 8,243.98 points, marking a three-week low and heading towards its longest losing streak since August 2023. Meanwhile, the FTSE 250 .FTMC traded flat.

The rise in U.S. 10-year Treasury yields US10YT=RR, reaching 4.556%, added pressure on stocks following strong U.S. consumer confidence data for May, which reinforced concerns about persistent inflation and the potential delay in Federal Reserve rate cuts.

Investors are now focused on upcoming data, particularly the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, scheduled for release on Friday. Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey's Thursday speech is also anticipated for further market direction.

In corporate news, International Distributions Services IDSI.L surged 3.1% after agreeing to a 3.57-billion-pound ($4.55 billion) takeover by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, owner of Royal Mail. Fresnillo PLC FRES.L led gains in the FTSE 100 with a 2.5% rise, following an upgrade by RBC from "sector perform" to "outperform".

Paraphrasing text from "Reuters" all rights reserved by the original author.