FX.co ★ FTSE 100 Slips Amidst Retail Sales Drop

The FTSE 100 saw a decline in its trading day due largely to the most considerable drop in U.K.'s retail sales in the past three years. This downturn was further impacted by various corporate earnings.

As per the latest report from the Confederation of British Industry, there's been a significant downfall in the monthly retail sales balance by 18 points, marking it to -50 in January. This depicts the fastest plunge in the retail sales volume since the start of 2021.

The FTSE 100's performance fluctuated between 7,540.21 and 7,508.80, when compared with its preceding day's closing position of 7,527.67.

Currently, the benchmark index of the London Stock Exchange stands at 7,515.46, demonstrating a 0.16 percent drop on an overnight basis. In the 100-scrip index, only 34 are trading in the negative zone from the previous night.

On a brighter note, the Intermediate Capital Group saw a 4.9 percent boost, closely followed by Smurfit Kappa Group with a 2.7 percent rally. Additionally, Mondi, Ashtead Group, Compass Group, and BP all experienced a growth of over one percent.

However, St James's Place plummeted by more than 6 percent. Furthermore, RS Group, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Standard Chartered, and Fresnillo removed over 2 percent off their scrips' value.

In foreign exchange, the Dollar Index saw a marginal decrease of 0.04 percent, reaching 103.19, while the GBP/USD pair experienced a 0.07 percent rise overnight to 1.2732. The sterling fluctuated between $1.2743 and $1.2703 during the day's trade.

The U.K.'s bond yields experienced a sharper increase than its European counterparts, leaping near to 2 percent, landing at 4.0675 percent. It saw a slight increase from 3.989 percent seen the previous day.