FTSE 100 close: Ocado drags London index away from record high
London’s FTSE 100 edged away from its record high today, driven lower by traders ditching middle-class favourite and online supermarket Ocado after it said income has tanked.
The capital’s premier index closed 0.12 per cent lower at 7,851.02 points, while the domestically-focused and mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, fell by a steeper 0.69 per cent to below the 20,000 point mark.
Results out this morning from Ocado showed the firm’s revenues tumbled to £2.2bn over the last year, mainly caused by Brits returning to physical supermarkets after the end of pandemic restrictions.
Sales also fell short of expectations.
However, its income is up compared to pre-Covid levels, signalling a greater proportion of consumers could have adopted online shopping in the long run.
Its shares tanked to the bottom of the FTSE 100, shedding nearly 10 per cent.
FTSE 100 bullish start to 2023 cools
Ocado’s drop partly arrested the FTSE 100’s strong start to 2023. It has gained around four per cent, sending it close to its highest level ever of just over 7,900 points.
The world is teetering on the edge of a recession, the findings of a survey of the globe’s chief economists released earlier this week by the WEF showed.
Fresh jobs data from the Office for National Statistics this morning showed private sector pay is rising at the fastest pace on record at over seven per cent, raising the risk of further interest rate hikes by the Bank of England and knocking risk sentiment.
“Is this a wage price spiral? Not quite, but close enough to warrant attention,” Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Finalto, said.
The pound strengthened around 0.6 per cent against the US dollar.
Oil prices nudged higher.