Good morning, this is the market report with me Katie Pilbeam this Friday December 10th.
The FTSE is in the red this morning after news the UK economy grew by just 0.1% in October due partly to a fall in people dining out and this is despite a strong performance by the health sector and second-hand car sales. The economy is still 0.5% below pre-pandemic levels according to the the ONS.
The UK construction sector has fallen back in recent months, now 2.8% below its pre-pandemic level, due to delays obtaining building materials and higher prices.
The Bank of England are due to meet next week and it’s now thought to be unlikely that they will put up interest rates in the wake of these rather dismal figures.
Across the pond, US inflation is expected to hit its highest level in nearly 40 years later today which will put pressure on the US Federal Reserve to speed up the withdrawal its post-pandemic economic support.
Small caps news today is coming from DeepVerge PLC (AIM:DVRG) (DeepVerge PLC (AIM:DVRG)) the firm has completed the development of its new compact units that can be used for pandemic surveillance at local community level, such as towns, villages and hospitals.
And finally, more than 1 million people have signed up to a ‘Christmas rave’ at 10 Downing Street, an event that was posted on Facebook this week. Created by DJ John Mancini and says: “No social distancing required. Bring Who you like. Bring your own Nibbles and drink.” Presumably mocking the whole party debacle, this comes as several alleged parties attended by MPs are now under investigation.