Greek deal buoys European stocks
The shock sensation that the Bank of England could finally be about to lift UK interest rates died down on Friday. If monetary tightening spreads beyond US shores, that’s when global stock markets could start to become unstuck. Sentiment was lifted by an agreement between Greece and its international creditors that should remove the threat of another debt default next month.
FTSE supermarkets split on Amazon-effect
The FTSE 100 ends the week well off the one-month lows reached on Thursday but further gains could be tough since higher rates would naturally make UK equities less attractive.
Tesco (LON:TSCO) shares managed a spectacular 180 degree change in fortunes on Friday. Investors flipped from satisfaction at the highest sales growth in seven years to fears that Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) could knock Tesco off its perch as Britain’s number one supermarket. Amazon’s $13.7bn purchase of US natural food store Whole Foods (NASDAQ:WFM) marks the entrance of a major new player into the supermarket space.
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