London's stock market ended Wednesday with minimal changes, as the FTSE 100 index dipped 0.07% following Donald Trump’s projected win in the recent US presidential election. The Associated Press confirmed Trump's success after securing 277 electoral votes, outpacing Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate, who garnered 224 votes.
Market analysts express concerns that this outcome may adversely affect the European economy, notably Germany, raising fears of a potential trade war. ING remarked, 'Despite European politicians' claims of being prepared for a second Trump presidency, it remains unclear whether Trump could indeed prompt deeper integration, given the domestic challenges many European governments face.
Europe will likely wait to see what policies Trump actually implements.' In the meantime, the European Central Bank (ECB) faces the challenge of potentially adopting more accommodative monetary policies. The recent election results have increased the chances of a 50 basis point rate cut at the ECB's meeting in December, with expectations for the deposit rate to fall to 1.75% by early summer, possibly followed by additional easing measures towards the end of 2025.
Domestically, the latest PMI data from S&P Global revealed a slowdown in the UK’s construction sector growth for October, with a reading of 54.3 compared to 57.2 in September. S&P identified civil engineering as the main contributor to this sector’s latest expansion. On the corporate front, Marks & Spencer Group ($MKS) saw a 3.83% increase at closing, reporting annual growth in both profit and revenue for the 26 weeks ending Sept.
28. Deutsche Bank noted, 'In our view, the sales momentum seen in the period will not fade quickly and this would support a strong second half, but we see scope for management to increase the level of investment to support longer-term growth. Current trading in clothing has slowed from the first half in October, but we see market share gains remaining robust.
Overall, M&S remains a remarkable turnaround story, and we expect this outperformance to continue.'.