1. Burberry warns on profit after slow December sales
Chief executive officer Jonathan Akeroyd said: “We experienced a further deceleration in our key December trading period and we now expect our full-year results to be below our previous guidance.”
2. FTSE 100: Stocks extend gains as Wall Street pushes higher
Investors were also digesting a mixed bag of earnings in the banking sector which saw JPMorgan and Citigroup rise but Bank of America and Wells Fargo fall back.
3. UK economy rebounds in November driven by service sector
Gross domestic product (GDP) rose 0.3% month on month in November, following a 0.3% decline the previous month, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), stronger than the 0.2% growth forecast by economists.
4. Bitcoin ETF volumes near $5bn in a day, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust breaks records
Bitcoin initially surged close to $49,000 in early Thursday trades, but the part was short lived. Come midnight, BTC/USDT had fallen back below $46,500, marking a 65-basis-point day-on-day loss.
5. US and UK attacks on Houthi rebels push oil price higher
The oil price has spiked after the US and the UK carried out military strikes against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, raising fears of a broader escalation of the conflict in the region.