On Wednesday morning, UK stocks demonstrated significant strength, positioning themselves ahead of other major European markets following an unanticipated decline in British consumer price inflation for December.
Market participants are now keenly awaiting the U.S. consumer price inflation figures to gain insight into potential actions by the Federal Reserve concerning interest rates.
The FTSE 100 index advanced by 58.82 points, equating to a 0.72% increase, reaching a level of 8,260.36.
Among the leading gains, Vistry Group observed an increase of over 5.5%. Additional companies, including Taylor Wimpey, Persimmon, Barratt Developments, Redrow, Diploma, Lloyds Banking Group, Howden Joinery, and Berkeley Group Holdings, saw their shares rise by 3 to 4%.
Other notable performers such as Unite Group, Land Securities, Severn Trent, United Utilities, DCC, British Land Company, Marks & Spencer, Kingfisher, Intertek, Fresnillo, Barclays, Vodafone, and Standard Chartered recorded gains ranging from 2 to 3%.
Conversely, Rentokil Initial experienced a decline of 1.7%, while Anglo American Plc and Imperial Brands decreased by 1.5% and 1.1%, respectively.
According to the Office for National Statistics, UK consumer price inflation unexpectedly eased in December, registering an annual rate of 2.5%, slightly below the 2.6% recorded in November. Analysts had anticipated that the rate would remain unchanged at 2.6%.
Month-on-month, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 0.3%, following a 0.1% increase in November. Price expectations had been higher, with a forecasted rise of 0.4%.
Additional data from the ONS highlighted a decrease in input prices for the fifth consecutive month in December, with an annual drop of 1.55%, following a 2.1% decline previously.
On a monthly basis, input prices edged up by 0.1%, compared to stagnation in November. Similarly, output prices rose by 0.1% after a 0.4% increase in the previous month.
A survey conducted by the British Retail Consortium among Chief Financial Officers revealed that UK retailers plan to hike prices this year in reaction to increased National Insurance costs.
The findings show that two-thirds of respondents intend to raise prices, and about half of those surveyed indicated plans to cut back on working hours and overtime.
The survey also highlighted the budget's impact on business investment decisions, with 46% of CFOs indicating plans to decrease capital expenditure and 25% considering delaying new store openings.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company -
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