Wall Street holds steady as FTSE closes higher

FTSE and European markets pushed higher this Thursday as in London high street retailer Next hiked its profit outlook for the fifth time this year and said factory gate prices are “diminishing”.

The FTSE 100 (^FTSE) rose 0.5% to close at 7,725 points, while the CAC 40 (^FCHI) in Paris climbed 0.5% to 7,445 points. In Germany, the DAX (^GDAXI) gained 0.4% to 16,600. Europe’s Stoxx 600 (^STOXX) finished 0.6% higher.

Next (NXT.L) hiked its profit outlook for the fifth time this financial year after better-than-expected festive sales and forecast earnings to increase further over the next 12 months.

Read more: FTSE 100 bosses earn 109 more than UK average salary

The retail giant increased its profit guidance by £20m ($25.38m) to £905m after full price sales for the nine weeks to 30 December rose 5.7% compared with 2% forecast.

It is now forecasting full-year sales to rise by 4% as it said January trading is also set to be better than expected.

Across the pond, US stocks bounced back after a rough start as Wall Street struggles to shake off a dismal start to the year after Federal Reserve policymakers left hopes for an early interest-rate cut hanging.

The Dow Jones (^DJI) rose 0.7% to 37,691 points. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) edged 0.4% higher to 4,723 points. The tech-heavy NASDAQ (^IXIC) gained 0.4% to 14,625 points.

Investors looking for confirmation of bets on a March rate cut got uncertainty instead in the Fed minutes released Wednesday. While officials agreed rates had reached a peak and should be lower by the end of 2024, some signalled that they could stay at their historically high levels "for some time" depending on the path of inflation.

In Asia, the Hang Seng (^HSI) in Hong Kong finished flat at 16,645 points, while the Shanghai Composite (000001.SS) lost 0.4% to 2,954 points. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 (^N225) slipped 0.5% to 33,288 points in its first trading session of 2024.

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There was a moment of silence instead of a celebratory New Year’s ring of the bell after an earthquake on Monday left at least 78 people dead and dozens missing in Japan.

The pound’s (GBPUSD=X) was stronger against the dollar, trading at $1.2694. The sterling (GBPEUR=X) was lower against the euro, trading at €1.1588.

Meanwhile, Brent crude (BZ=F) slipped and was hovering around $77/barrel despite concerns about Middle Eastern supply following disruptions at a field in Libya and heightened tension around the Israel-Gaza war.

Watch: Japan stocks: a minute's silence, then a slide

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