Friday marked a busy day for macroeconomic news, with updates on Britain’s retail, housing and construction markets being followed by jobs data in the US.
On the UK side, stark figures showing UK retailers faced their longest period of negative sales growth since the pandemic weighed on the FTSE 100 index.
Adding further pressure was news that prices in Britain’s property sector had stagnated in March, sending shares in housebuilders lower throughout the day.
News that the UK construction sector grew in March for the first time in seven months offered a glimmer of positivity though.
US jobs data also appeared to show the strength of the American economy, but in the context of prospective interest rate cuts, sentiment seemed clouded.
UK retail
According to accountant BDO, sales across Britain’s retail sector fell for the sixth consecutive month in March by 2.2%.
Noting a “bleak picture” for the market, the firm’s retail head, Sophie Michael, said the figures “serve as a stark reminder of the pressure the sector is under”.
Fashion retailers enjoyed 1.5% growth in non-store sales, but faced a 6% decline at brick and mortar sites, while homeware marked a 10.9% fall, as lifestyle climbed 0.9%.
UK housing
Halifax’s data delved into the UK’s housing sector, which again faced a tough month in March as prices stagnated on continued pressure from high interest rates.
Average property prices did climb 0.3% on an annual basis to £288,430, but this was down 1% on a month earlier in February.
UK construction
In more positive news, S&P Global data showed Britain's construction sector moved from contraction to growth territory last month.
The firm’s UK Construction purchasing managers index lifted from 49.7 in February to 50.2 in March, with a rise above the 50 mark separating contraction from growth.
According to EY ITEM Club analysts, this should support expectations that the UK economy returned to growth over the first quarter.
US jobs
US economic resilience shone through in jobs data on Friday in the meantime, with figures for March surpassing analysts expectations.
Some 303,000 jobs were added in March, non-farm payrolls from the Labor Department showed, against forecasts for 214,000 new roles.
However, as eToro analyst Bret Kenwell noted: “This report may do little to ease investors’ concern about the Fed further delaying rate cuts.”