2026-02-03 11:23

FTSE 100 down 0.2%, FTSE 250 up 0.1% Precious‑metal miners rise as gold rebounds AstraZeneca weighs on healthcare stocks after drug setback UK grocery inflation slows; BoE decision on Thursday Feb 03 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 index slipped after hitting a record high on Tuesday, as losses in AstraZeneca shares and energy stocks overpowered gains from miners, with investors cautious ahead of Bank of England's policy meeting later this week. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index (.FTSE) , opens new tab was down 0.2% at 1039 GMT after hitting a record high of 10,373.28 points during the session. Sign up here. AstraZeneca shares (AZN.L) , opens new tab dropped 1.5% after U.S. regulators rejected its bid for an easier‑to‑use version of lupus drug Saphnelo, pushing back the timeline for a possible approval to the first half of 2026. A selloff in commodity-linked stocks in the last two sessions had weighed on the commodity-heavy FTSE 100 index, as leveraged investors were forced to unwind their speculative bets in a slide that began after Kevin Warsh, a policy hawk, was nominated as the next U.S. Federal Reserve chair. Endeavour Mining (EDV.L) , opens new tab and Fresnillo (FRES.L) , opens new tab are among the top gainers on the benchmark index, up 5% and 4.3%, respectively, as gold staged its biggest one‑day rally since 2008 following a two‑session rout. The precious‑metal miners index (.FTNMX551030) , opens new tab climbed 4.5%, snapping a three‑day losing streak. Other London-listed miners also rose, with gains in Anglo American (AAL.L) , opens new tab and Antofagasta (ANTO.L) , opens new tab up 4% and 3.5% respectively, as copper also gained after supply concerns and demand prospects offered support to the red metal. Energy stocks Shell (SHEL.L) , opens new tab and BP (BP.L) , opens new tab fell 1.5% and 1.7%, respectively, tracking a 1% decline in oil prices, the second straight drop as market participants weighed the possibility of a de‑escalation in U.S.-Iran tensions. The domestically focused mid-cap index FTSE 250 (.FTMC) , opens new tab was up 0.1%. Meanwhile, in a busy week of global central bank meetings, the BoE is expected to keep its benchmark borrowing costs unchanged at 3.75% on Thursday. Separately, UK grocery inflation eased to 4.0% in the four weeks to January 25, its lowest since April, data from market researcher Worldpanel by Numerator showed, offering some relief to shoppers at a time when the BoE is keeping a close eye on food prices for signals on broader inflation pressures. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/londons-ftse-100-slips-near-record-level-astrazeneca-falls-2026-02-03/

2026-02-03 11:22

Feb 3 (Reuters) - Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM.N) , opens new tab on Tuesday forecast current-year adjusted profit below analysts' expectations, reflecting continued deferral of U.S. biofuel policy and flat crush margins, sending its shares down 4.6% in premarket trading. Last month, Reuters reported that the Trump administration plans to finalize 2026 biofuel blending quotas by early March, keeping them close to its initial proposal while dropping a plan to penalize imports of renewable fuels and feedstocks. The policy was originally expected in late October 2025. Sign up here. It would be one of the administration's most consequential decisions on energy policy, providing clarity on quotas. Due to the deferral, companies said they are forced to hold back on deals and delay spending decisions that shape output and margins. The delay, particularly regarding renewable fuel blending requirements, slowed use of feedstocks like the soybean oil produced at ADM processing plants. Operating profit from agricultural services and oilseed segment, its largest segment, slumped 31% in the reported quarter to $444 million. The Chicago-based company expects 2026 adjusted earnings to be between $3.60 per share to $4.25 per share, the midpoint of which is less than analysts' average estimate of $4.24 apiece, according to data compiled by LSEG. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/grain-trader-adm-forecasts-downbeat-2026-profit-us-biofuel-policy-delay-2026-02-03/

2026-02-03 11:12

Walmart hits $1 trillion in market value for the first time Palantir shares gain after quarterly results Obesity drugmakers drop on Novo Nordisk's outlook warning S&P 500 -0.84%, Nasdaq -1.43%, Dow -0.34% Feb 3 (Reuters) - Wall Street ended sharply lower on Tuesday as investors worried about AI creating more competition for software makers, keeping them on edge ahead of quarterly reports from Alphabet and Amazon later this week. AI heavyweights Nvidia (NVDA.O) , opens new tab and Microsoft (MSFT.O) , opens new tab each fell almost 3%. Alphabet dropped 1.2% ahead of its report on Wednesday, while Amazon (AMZN.O) , opens new tab declined 1.8% ahead of its Thursday report. Sign up here. Investors in recent months have become pickier about AI-related stocks, looking for companies generating measurable returns from their outsized investments in the new technology. Wall Street’s attention on Tuesday turned to technology companies that could face steeper competition and lower margins as a result of AI. One catalyst driving those concerns was Anthropic’s launch of a legal tool for its Claude AI chatbot. “We're looking at a lot of software names that are seen as companies that may well be disrupted when we start to see the advancement of artificial intelligence. We're seeing a lot of software companies across the spectrum get hit,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth. Salesforce , Datadog (DDOG.O) , opens new tab and Adobe (ADBE.O) , opens new tab lost about 7%, Synopsys (SNPS.O) , opens new tab and Atlassian (TEAM.O) , opens new tab fell about 8%, and Intuit (INTU.O) , opens new tab slumped 11%. AI data firm Palantir (PLTR.O) , opens new tab bucked the trend, rallying almost 7% after strong quarterly results late on Monday. The S&P 500 software and services index (.SPLRCIS) , opens new tab fell 3.8%, down for a fifth consecutive day. "We've got an expensive market and expectations are really high. Many areas, especially around AI, are priced for perfection. That's just got us in a skittish environment," said John Campbell, senior portfolio manager, Allspring Global Investments. Healthcare stocks came under pressure after Wegovy maker Novo Nordisk warned that it expected a steep decline in annual sales. The company's U.S.-listed shares plummeted nearly 15%. Rival Eli Lilly (LLY.N) , opens new tab fell 3.9%, while obesity drugmaker Structure Therapeutics (GPCR.O) , opens new tab lost 6.75%. Walmart (WMT.O) , opens new tab climbed about 3% to become the first brick-and-mortar retailer ever to hit $1 trillion in stock market value. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.O) , opens new tab fell 1.7% ahead of its quarterly report after the bell. Walt Disney (DIS.N) , opens new tab dipped 0.2% after it named theme parks head Josh D'Amaro as CEO, placing a longtime insider at the helm and ending succession uncertainty. PayPal (PYPL.O) , opens new tab slumped 20% after it forecast 2026 profit below estimates. The S&P 500 declined 0.84% to end the session at 6,917.81 points. The Nasdaq declined 1.43% to 23,255.19 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.34% to 49,240.99 points. Even as the S&P 500 ended lower, advancing issues outnumbered falling ones within the index (.AD.SPX) , opens new tab by a 1.2-to-one ratio. With Tuesday's losses, the S&P 500 is up about 1% in 2026 and the Nasdaq is flat. Volume on U.S. exchanges was heavy, with 23.5 billion shares traded, compared to an average of 19.6 billion shares over the previous 20 sessions. Six of the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes declined, led lower by information technology (.SPLRCT) , opens new tab, down 2.17%, followed by a 1.28% loss in communication services (.SPLRCL) , opens new tab. EARNINGS DELUGE With one quarter of the S&P 500 set to report quarterly results this week, analysts expect companies to have grown their earnings nearly 11% in the December quarter, up from an estimate of about 9% at the start of January, according to LSEG data. Pfizer (PFE.N) , opens new tab fell 3.3% despite posting fourth-quarter profit above estimates, while Merck (MRK.N) , opens new tab rose 2.2% after its quarterly results. PepsiCo (PEP.O) , opens new tab gained 4.9% after the company announced price cuts on core brands such as Lay's and Doritos. Meanwhile, legislation to end a U.S. government shutdown narrowly cleared a procedural hurdle in the House of Representatives, setting up a vote on final passage later in the day. The partial shutdown has postponed releases of key jobs data on Friday along with the JOLTS report, originally expected on Tuesday. The S&P 500 posted 81 new highs and 28 new lows; the Nasdaq recorded 202 new highs and 311 new lows. https://www.reuters.com/business/sp-nasdaq-futures-edge-up-earnings-deluge-takes-center-stage-2026-02-03/

2026-02-03 11:09

LONDON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - The pound was little changed on Tuesday as a light economic calendar made for steady trading ahead of the Bank of England's interest rate decision on Thursday. Sterling was last trading flat against the dollar at $1.3672, having gained around 1.4% this year on the back of stronger-than-expected economic data. Sign up here. Market participants expect the Bank of England to hold rates at 3.75% on Thursday before cutting borrowing costs once or twice later in the year. Britain's inflation rate rose more than expected to 3.4% in December, the highest in the Group of Seven most affluent nations, although the BoE expects it will drop to its 2% target by around the middle of the year. "Markets now think the Bank of England will wait until probably the May policy meeting before cutting rates further," said Lee Hardman, senior currency analyst at Japanese bank MUFG. "I think that delayed expectations for the Bank of England rate cuts is helping the pound to strengthen." There will be little in the way of major UK economic data until growth, employment and inflation figures in mid- to late February. Recent data, including stronger-than-expected GDP figures for November and a bounce in retail sales in December and business activity in January, has helped push the pound higher this year against the dollar and euro. It touched a more than four-year high of $1.3867 in late January, aided by a fall in the dollar driven by trade uncertainty and expectations of further U.S. rate cuts. U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to pick Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve chief has boosted the dollar, however, as traders regard him as less likely to slash interest rates than other candidates. The euro was last flat against the pound at 86.29 pence. It has slipped around 1% against sterling this year. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/sterling-steady-traders-eye-bank-england-decision-2026-02-03/

2026-02-03 11:08

Gold tokens face custody and regulatory risks, experts warn Tokenization offers faster settlement, but U.S. regulation remains unclear Gold token demand rises amid elevated bullion prices Feb 3 (Reuters) - A surge in the price of gold is driving demand for so-called tokenized gold, a fast-growing niche of the digital asset market, which experts warn carries custody and regulatory risks that are not always apparent to investors. Gold tokens are digital coins issued on a blockchain by crypto firms, including Tether and Paxos, which are backed by an equivalent amount of physical gold held in a vault, allowing retail and traditional investors to dabble in the yellow metal without taking physical delivery. Sign up here. While gold tokens are still small compared to the overall digital asset market, they are growing fast. There were nearly 20 gold tokens with a combined market capitalization of almost $6 billion as of Monday, according to data from CoinGecko, with offerings from Paxos and Tether accounting for more than half the market. The overall market has grown more than fourfold since the end of 2024. INVESTOR PROTECTION TEST The spot gold price had soared to a new record of $5,594.82 on Thursday, but a day later posted its biggest one‑day slump since 1983. Such blips could pose a threat to investor protection tied to such novel products if a rush of redemption requests for the physical metal exposes gaps that industry experts say can exist. In the case of some tokens, it is unclear where the underlying metal is stored and who controls it, leaving investors with less transparency than in traditional gold markets, they said, although some issuers refute that. "It's not clear what you actually own when you buy any digital token 'backed' by a physical asset," said Adrian Ash, head of research at online marketplace BullionVault. "If you needed to assert your ownership in a legal dispute, the court might decide that you in fact own only the token, not the gold." Paxos in a statement said it operates with federal oversight, with all reserves protected in the event it goes bankrupt. Every token is 100% backed by fully allocated, institutional-grade physical gold held in London vaults and redeemable for physical delivery at any time, it added. Tether did not respond to a request for comment, but says on its website that Tether Gold gives "you ownership of real physical gold." Tether held about 16.2 tons of physical gold at December-end as reserves for the token, it said last month. TOKENIZATION PUSH Tokenization has taken off across several asset classes over the past year, including in stocks and bonds. Digital asset firms say tokenization allows for faster and sometimes instant settlement, boosting liquidity and lowering transaction costs. But because the United States lacks a clear regulatory framework for tokenized assets, investor rights and protections vary, say critics. When it comes to gold tokens, the chief concern is whether the physical gold backing them is held on a one-to-one basis, independently audited and readily available for redemption. The question of who ultimately owns the underlying metal has been at the heart of several legal disputes following commodities-related bankruptcies in the past, including when U.S. hedge fund MF Global collapsed in 2011. The added layer of tokenization is only likely to make such disputes more complex, said some investors. "Most of the risk sits off-chain in whether the token represents a direct, bankruptcy-remote claim on specific allocated bars or a contractual claim on an issuer and its custodians, and that huge distinction determines whether holders own an asset or own a promise," said Michael Ashley Schulman, partner and CIO at Running Point Capital Advisors. Oversight of such digital assets is also in flux. Campbell Harvey, a professor of finance at Duke University, noted a long-awaited bill working its way through Congress has put the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in charge of such products , opens new tab. Although it's unclear whether that contentious legislation will ultimately be passed, Reuters has reported. Anytime you have got a custodial arrangement like this, it is challenging, said Harvey. CRYPTO'S 'GOLD RUSH' Although investors have also traditionally used gold as an inflation hedge, interest in tokenized gold was stoked by the metal's rally as geopolitical tensions fueled safe-haven demand. "The explosive growth in popularity in gold-backed tokens reflects a newer, younger demographic becoming interested in gold, perhaps frustrated by the lack of momentum in bitcoin prices," said independent analyst Ross Norman. While gold was surging, bitcoin, the world's largest cryptocurrency which is also seen as an inflation hedge, was falling, and is down roughly 38% from its October high. Paxos said it saw record inflows into its gold token in January, growing its market value by the equivalent of about 1.68 metric tons of gold, and bringing its total physical gold holdings in London to more than 13 metric tons. Advocates for tokenized gold say it could replace bitcoin as the preferred inflation hedge in crypto portfolios. "We are going to have around 10% in bitcoin and 10% to 15% in gold," Tether's CEO Paolo Ardoino said in a Reuters interview last month, in which he was discussing the company's investment portfolio. "It's hard to decide which one I like the most," he said. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/precious-metal-price-fluctuations-could-test-fast-growing-gold-token-market-2026-02-03/

2026-02-03 10:44

France to use its G7 role to press action on global imbalances Paris seeks joint G7 tools, including on rare earths supply France aims to revive talks on taxing multinationals PARIS, Feb 3 (Reuters) - France will put currency market volatility on the agenda of Group of Seven finance talks if needed, its finance minister said on Tuesday, as Paris uses its G7 presidency to push for action on what it calls worsening global economic imbalances. The U.S. dollar fell to a more than 4-1/2-year low against the euro last week, prompting concern among policymakers, while China's renminbi has been weak against other major currencies for years, giving its exports a competitive edge. Sign up here. "If necessary, I will of course put the issue of foreign exchange market volatility on the agenda," Roland Lescure told journalists as he presented his G7 priorities. Once the pre-eminent forum for tackling global economic issues among industrialised nations, the G7 is struggling to remain relevant, especially as the Trump administration pursues unilateral policies that have unsettled allies. Lescure, who will host G7 finance ministers and central bank governors in Paris on May 18-19, said France wanted the group to focus on imbalances he described as driven by credit-fuelled over-consumption in the U.S., under-investment in Europe and export-led growth in China. "If we continue at this pace without dialogue, without agreeing corrective measures, it will end badly, whether it's an economic crisis, financial crisis, political crisis," he added. He said G7 finance ministers should agree a "catalogue" of joint tools to address imbalances, potentially targeting specific sectors such as rare earths. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent convened a meeting last month with counterparts from G7 and other partner countries to discuss ways to reduce reliance on China for rare earths, including setting a price floor and forming new partnerships to build alternative supplies. Lescure said he also wanted to use France's G7 presidency to revive talks on coordinating international taxation of multinational companies, an area that has previously drawn criticism from the Trump administration. https://www.reuters.com/business/french-finance-minister-may-put-forex-volatility-g7-agenda-2026-02-03/