FTSE Drops After Lower Oil, Greek and Fed Expectations

Energy shares weighed down a market already troubled by the Greek situation and the prospect of a US rate rise in the middle of this year.

The slump in the crude price is hitting the spending plans of major oil companies, with Royal Dutch Shell the latest to unveil cutbacks. The company’s B shares slid 110p to £21.38 after it unveiled a $15bn cut in investment over the next three years. Rival BP lost 8.1p to 424.85p and BG dropped 16.9p to 880.9p.

Soco International, the mid-cap producer focused on Vietnam and Africa, also announced a 60% cut in its investment budget this year, leaving its shares 15p lower at 265p.

Overall the FTSE 100 finished down 15.34 points at 6810.60.

Investors were nervous about the outlook for Greece’s finances if the new government fails to reach a compromise with its European creditors, while Wednesday’s statement from the US Federal Reserve was positive enough about the country’s economy to raise the prospect of an earlier than expected increase in borrowing costs. The US market was mixed, rising almost 50 points by the time London closed after better than expected weekly jobless claims but weak home sales figures.

via The Guardian

Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.