European stocks rise and euro falls ahead of ECB interest rate decision

Live3 updates

• Thu 17 October 2024 at 2:21 am GMT-6

  ECB expected to cut interest rates this afternoon

  The European Central Bank (ECB) is expected to cut interest rates this afternoon for its third time this year, taking its deposit rate to 3.25%.

  Policymakers are under pressure to cut after eurozone inflation was estimated to fall below the 2% target in September.

  Neil Hutchison, European liquidity strategies portfolio manager at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, said:

  “With Halloween on the horizon, we’re not expecting any scary surprises from the ECB this week. Spooked by weaker PMI business survey data, the ECB is likely to deliver a 0.25% rate cut.

  “Recent cooling in inflation data means they’re less burdened by potential price pressures. With minimal pushback from ECB members, markets would be surprised if a cut didn’t happen.

  “Beyond this meeting, the outlook is currently enveloped in a Halloween haze, with concerns over a potential growth slowdown and geopolitical tensions, amid resilient wage growth and low unemployment.”

• Thu 17 October 2024 at 1:49 am GMT-6

  Asia and US ovenight

  Stocks in Asia headed lower overnight, with the Nikkei (^N225) down 0.7% on the day in Japan after the government reported the country’s exports fell 1.7% from a year earlier in September, widening the trade deficit.

  Meanwhile the Hang Seng (^HSI) fell 1.1% in Hong Kong. The Shanghai Composite (000001.SS) was 1.05% down by the end of the session despite a Beijing briefing that promised a boost for the ailing housing sector.

  Chinese markets initially gained after officials announced the government was expanding financing for housing projects to try to turn around a slump in the property market triggered by a crackdown on excessive borrowing by developers.

  China is due to announce its economic growth data for the third quarter on Friday. Economists are forecasting annual growth at about 4.5%, short of the government’s target of about 5%.

  Across the pond, Wall Street stocks surged after better-than-expected profit reports from Morgan Stanley and United Airlines offset a retreat in tech stocks.

  The S&P 500 (^GSPC) advanced 0.47% to 5,842.47 points, and the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) rose 0.28% to end at 18,367.08. The Dow Jones (^DJI) gained 0.79% to a record high of 43,077.70.

• Thu 17 October 2024 at 1:23 am GMT-6

  Coming up…

  Good morning, and welcome back to our markets live blog. As usual we will be taking a deep dive into what’s moving markets and what’s happening across the global economy.

  Here’s a quick look at what’s on the agenda for today:

  • 7am: Trading updates: St James’ Place, Centamin, Dunelm, AJ Bell, Rentokil Initial, Mondi

  • 10am: Eurozone inflation estimate for September

  • 1.15pm: European Central Bank sets interest rates

  • 1.30pm: US retail sales for September

  • 1.30pm: US weekly jobless claims

  • 1.45pm: European Central Bank press conference

  • 4pm: US Crude Oil Inventories