Stocks hit by investor caution as Covid vaccine excitement fades – as it happened

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Stocks hit by investor caution as Covid vaccine excitement fades – as it happened

Rolling coverage of the latest business and markets news, as rising Covid cases overshadowed enthusiasm for a vaccine 3.02pm GMT  2.48pm GMT US regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission has charged the ex-Wells Fargo chief executive John Stumpf for his role in misleading investors about the success of its core business. He’s agreed to pay $2.5m to settle the charges.  2.32pm GMT Wall Street is open for trading and stocks are broadly higher:  1.41pm GMT The FCA is not getting much applause for its proposed censure of Carillion and its warning to executives- at least not from Prem Sikka, professor of accounting at the University of Sheffield and emeritus professor at the University of EsForex and Stock Speculating: Need evidence of UK regulatory failure? Look no further than Carillion collapse. Thousands lost jobs, savings, pensions. After nearly 2 yrs, the FCA censures directors, no financial penalty. That is not a deterrent . FCA is unfit to be a regulator.https://t.co/EkXERsoV1i 1.35pm GMT DATA FLASH: The US producer price index (PPI) for October rose 0.5% year-on-year.That is higher than economist expectations for a 0.4% rise.  1.23pm GMT Despite a pullback today, the London stock market is heading for its best week since April amid rising hopes that a coronavirus vaccine can trigger a faster economic revival from the pandemic than first anticipated.The FTSE 100 index of leading UK company shares is on track to end the week more than 300 points higher, a rise of almost 7%, despite a modest sell-off on Friday as City investors bet it would still take time to deploy the vaccine and for Britain’s economy to stage a full recovery. Related: FTSE 100 set for best week since April as Covid vaccine triggers hopes for economy  12.56pm GMT BREAKING: Spanish bank Santander is set to cut 4,000 jobs in Spain and cut around 1,000 branches. That’s according to Reuters, citing local news agency EFE. 12.32pm GMT Prime minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman has confirmed that Brexit talks will be paused over the weekend but will resume in Brussels net week, according to Reuters. The spokesman added that familiar differences remain in EU trade talks over a level playing field and fisheries.  Related: Brexit standoff blamed on No 10 infighting over Cummings' departure  12.16pm GMT Tesco has apologised after its grocery website was overwhelmed with shoppers trying to book delivery slots for Christmas. Customers complained they had been forced to join an online queue for hours after it opened bookings for Christmas week for shoppers signed up to Tesco’s Delivery Pass subscription service. pic.twitter.com/6cvTb0mM6W 11.58am GMT Time to check back in on stocks markets, which are mixed across Europe. While major continental indices are still managing to trade in positive territory, the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 are down -0.5% and -0.4%, respectively.Equity markets started off in the red this morning but they have been driving higher recently and most European indices are in positive territory. The rebound in sentiment seems a bit strange seeing as the number of new coronavirus cases in the UK, Germany and Italy are worrying. France is committed to maintaining its lockdown in the near term and so is the UK.  11.17am GMT Strong figures have been released by the food delivery arm of Uber.  11.06am GMT  The Financial Conduct Authority has warned it may publicly censure Carillion and issued warnings to certain former executives for acting “recklessly” ahead of the company’s collapse. They made misleadingly positive statements about Carillion’s financial performance generally and in relation to its UK construction business in particular, which did not reflect significant deteriorations in the expected financial performance of that business and the increasing financial risks associated with it.The FCA considers that Carillion and the relevant executive directors acted recklessly in relation to the above matters.  10.34am GMT The Bank of England has written to insurance executives this morning, warning they may have been “optimistic” when estimating their Covid-related losses. Our work has highlighted that a number of firms have not been able to accurately identify and track Covid exposed policies, leading to unexpected Covid losses. Firms should ensure that this uncertainty is reflected in the reserve estimates and that, where possible, appropriate procedures are put in place to identify and track exposed policies. 10.13am GMT The 12.6% rise in eurozone GDP is still a record high for quarterly growth, despite its downward revision, according to Eurostat: These were by far the sharpest increases observed since time series started in 1995, and a rebound compared with the second quarter of 2020, when GDP had decreased by 11.8% in the euro area and by 11.4% in the EU. 10.09am GMT Eurozone employment was up 0.9% on on a quarterly basis in Q3, according to Eurostat. However, on an annual basis, employment was still 2% lower in the three months to September, compared to the same period last year. Euro area #employment +0.9% in Q3 2020, -2.0% compared with Q3 2019: flash estimate from #Eurostat https://t.co/acpB7FkG9Y pic.twitter.com/VkB34t1YbF 10.03am GMT DATA FLASH: Eurozone GDP rose 12.6% in the three months to September, according to the second estimate of quarterly economic data. That is slightly lower than the first estimate of a 12.7%.  9.48am GMT Investors seem to be buying on the dip, which is helping European stocks reverse losses less than two hours into trading. NEW: Joe Biden will win the state of Arizona, Edison projects. https://t.co/f7rfqQpOSe pic.twitter.com/aXCi9qc0Wq 9.11am GMT Brexit jitters and the power struggle at 10 Downing Street are also weighing on global stock markets this morning. As Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargeaves Lansdown, explains: The wave of optimism which washed over the financial markets has begun to ebb away as anxieties over a Brexit deal take hold once again....The expected departure of two of Boris Johnson’s top advisors has added to the cloud of uncertainty which has been gathering over concerns trade negotiations could be heading for fresh deadlock. The pound has already steadily gained ground earlier in the week, boosted by the Pfizer announcement but has slipped back to below 1.12 against the euro, reflecting the dawning realisation that there will be no quick fix to the pandemic. Sterling is ticking up slowly again this morning, but there is a distinct lack of momentum as traders await the latest twist in the Brexit saga. 8.48am GMT If you’re looking for some escape from the doom and gloom of the markets, my colleague Sarah Butler has the inside tale on John Lewis’ new Christmas advert (yep, it’s that time of year already). Over the past decade the retailer’s festive ad has become a big annual TV moment that kicks off the Christmas shopping season. Related: John Lewis Christmas ad stars children, snowmen and hip-hop pigeons  8.25am GMT Oil prices have also tumbled this morning amid fears that rising Covid cases will continue to hold back an economic recovery, including fuel demand. Traders are still gloomy after the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned yesterday that global oil demand is unlikely to recover from any Covid vaccine until further into 2021.  8.03am GMT We’ve now got a print for Germany’s Dax which is down 0.1% at the open. 8.02am GMT As expected, European stocks have fallen into the red at the start of trading:  7.45am GMT Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the world economy, the financial markets, the eurozone and business.Excitement over a Covid-19 vaccine is fading fast, with investors Currency carry trade that things are likely to get worse before they get better. With the worst of the cold weather yet to arrive and the pace of new infections only expected to increase as we head towards year end, it is slowly becoming apparent that the arrival of a vaccine can’t come soon enough. It is also quite apparent that even if one was to arrive in the near future it wouldn’t be able to change the situation on the ground as it is now, which means things are only likely to get worse before they get better.European Opening Calls:#FTSE 6298 -0.64%#DAX 13042 -0.09%#CAC 5348 -0.28%#AEX 598 -0.41%#MIB 20725 -0.45%#IBEX 7694 -0.41%#OMX 1891 -0.07%#STOXX 3422 -0.18%#IGOpeningCall Continue reading...

Source: Stocks hit by investor caution as Covid vaccine excitement fades – as it happened