FTSE 100 LIVE: Index lower as oil majors fall, Boeing to tumble on Wall Street

US Shares To Start Mixed; Boeing Likely To Drop

Today, the beginning of the day's trading on Wall Street is expected to be varied. However, it seems that Boeing will experience a considerable reduction in value.

The futures for Dow Jones have decreased by 0.3% and are currently at 37596.00. On the other hand, there has been no change in the S&P 500 futures as they remain at 4737.25. However, there has been a slight rise of 0.2% in the Nasdaq futures which are at 16487.75.

Boeing's stocks are expected to take a significant hit of approximately 8% following the recent revelation of safety issues with their aircraft. This unfortunate turn of events is predicted to result in a considerable loss of approximately $13 billion in the company's market valuation.

"New Thames Water Boss Receives Comforting Drops"

Chris Weston has just started his new job as the head of Thames Water. When he went into his office in Reading, he must have been surprised by the stack of work waiting for him.

However, the ex-executive of Aggreko and British Gas will undoubtedly be fully aware of the enormity of the task that lies ahead of him.

The position has become a source of difficulty in recent times. The previous person in the role, Sarah Bentley, resigned in June due to worries about the financial well-being of a company that provides water to most of the people in London. Before her, Steve Robertson was fired in 2019 for his insufficient performance in preventing water leaks.

"2024 Offers Most Mortgage Choices In 15 Years"

A website that provides financial information says that the market for people who want to borrow money to buy a house is offering more types of loans than it has in over a decade and a half. This is how the new year has begun for this market.

The usual amount of time that a mortgage product remains available for purchase has gone up to 21 days. This is longer than the time frame of 15 days seen in January of the previous year.

Moneyfacts discovered that in July 2023, mortgages had a fleeting presence on the market, lasting only 12 days on average before being sold.

Have a glance at our updated market summary for late morning, with JD Sports being the top decliner.

CMC And Plus500 Markets Show Signs Of Improvement

At the beginning of the year, there was optimism for the stock market as CMC Markets and Plus 500 reported encouraging figures.

CMC, which is a spread betting company run by Lord Peter Cruddas, stated that their performance was impressive during the third quarter. Consequently, they anticipate their profits this year to fall between £290 million and £310 million, a significant increase from their previous estimate of £250 million to £280 million.

This indicates that retail investors are regaining their confidence after avoiding unstable stock markets last year. The shares of CMC surged by 26p, reaching 136p.

Plus500 expressed a similar sentiment by stating that it is eagerly anticipating the upcoming year "with certainty". Their earnings for the duration of last year, ending in December, totaled $725 million with an adjusted profit, Ebitda, amounting to $340 million.

The two numbers exceed what the market expected. However, they didn't provide a pre-tax profit estimate, which is the more commonly used profit measurement. As a result, shares in Plus500 increased by 83p to 1743p.

BP & Shell Drag FTSE 100; Plus500 Surges 6% In FTSE 250

Despite predicting a notable increase in profits from gas trading in the final quarter of the year, the value of Shell's stocks has plummeted by 42.5p to reach 2528.5p.

BP's share price decreased by 5.05p and reached 468.8p when Brent Crude futures dipped to approximately $78 a barrel. This caused the FTSE 100 index to drop by 19.97 points, bringing it down to 7669.64.

An update from Shell seemed to positively affect Centrica's stock as it topped the blue-chip index with a rise of 3.45p to 155.15p. Taylor Wimpey also saw some gains, climbing 0.85p to 145.25p after receiving an upgrade from a broker.

Berenberg changed its rating for Legal & General to a "buy" and proposed a new projected value of 289p, which contributed to an increase of 2.6p in its share price, closing at 246.4p.

The FTSE 250 index rose by 0.3%, which equals 61.77 points, reaching a total of 19,272.16. Trading platform Plus500 experienced a surge of 6%, which is equivalent to 94p, reaching a total of 1754p. This happened after the company predicted that their results in 2023 would be better than expected.

"FTSE 100 Drops In Latest Market Update"

Check out the current market overview which shows that the FTSE 100 is facing a challenging beginning to the year.

Argo Blockchain's Equity Raise Results In Share Decline

At the start of trading today, Argo Blockchain's stock, which is involved in Bitcoin mining, dropped by approximately 10% because the company announced a reduced price for its shares.

The business declared that their earnings from mining in December saw a rise of 25% when compared to November, totaling $6.6 million – their most profitable month in the year 2023. Furthermore, the production of Bitcoin experienced a 4% growth due to the raised transaction fees on the network.

The business managed to raise £7.3 million by selling shares but at a lower price compared to what the shares were worth when the stock market closed on Friday. As a result, the company's stock value has decreased.

Bet365 CEO Makes £220m Despite Company's Loss

Denise Coates, the leader of Bet365, made an additional £270.7 million in the period up to March 2023, even though the company experienced a financial loss.

The income increased to £3.39 billion. While sports betting continued to be the main source of income with £2.65 billion, online casino games also became an important contributor to the revenue, accounting for approximately £715 million.

Just like in previous years, the company decided not to provide a revenue breakdown by location, stating that it would harm the group's interests. Bet365 has been under scrutiny by lawmakers regarding the amount of money it earns from China, a country where online betting is banned.

Hang Seng Slump And Lower Oil Price Drag FTSE 100 Down

The unimpressive beginning of the year for worldwide markets is expected to persist due to the declining possibility of a decrease in US interest rates in the initial quarter.

On Friday, Wall Street finished without significant change, but throughout the week it dropped due to uncertainty regarding interest rates. The cause of this uncertainty was a jobs report that surpassed expectations, revealing that 216,000 non-farm payrolls were added.

This coming week, the inflation rates in the US will be made public on Thursday. After that, on the following day, big banks such as Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase will reveal their financial results.

In the latest trading session, the Hang Seng index of Hong Kong experienced a 2% drop. As for CMC Markets analysis, the FTSE 100 index is expected to commence 17 points lower at 7674.

The value of oil shares may face difficulties following the decline of 1% in Brent Crude, which is currently at $78 per barrel.