FTSE and European stocks mixed, London loses gains

The FTSE 100 slid 0.1% to 7,479 points, the CAC 40 shed 0.5% to 7,376 points, the DAX dropped 0.3% to 16,638, and the Stoxx 600 shed 0.3%

The FTSE and European stocks were mixed on Tuesday with London losing its earlier gains from lower than expected UK government borrowing figures that fuelled hopes of tax cuts for consumers.

The FTSE 100 slid 0.1% to 7,479 points during afternoon trading, while the CAC 40 in Paris shed 0.5% to 7,376 points. In Germany, the DAX dropped 0.3% to 16,638. The Stoxx 600 shed 0.3%.

UK public sector borrowing increased by £7.8 billion in December, about half the borrowing made in the same month in 2022, as per the ONS on Tuesday. It is the lowest for the month borrowing since 2019 and significantly lower than the £14 billion expected by the Office for Budget Responsibility.

In Wall Street, US stocks hit pause on a record-setting rally as focus turned to the day's earnings for insight into the health of corporate America and the economy.

The Dow Jones shed 0.2% to 37,923 points. The S&P 500 jumped 0.1% to 4,854 points and the tech-heavy NASDAQ, added 0.1% to 15,378.

Hong Kong stocks bounced back Tuesday to lead gains in Asia markets, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 index was marginally down after the Bank of Japan kept its monetary policy unchanged in its first policy meeting of the year.

The Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained 2.3% to 15,315 while the Shanghai Composite jumped 0.5% to 2,770 points. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 shed nearly 0.1% to end at 36,517 points.

Chinese stocks struggled as speculation of a huge rescue package from Beijing underwhelmed investors concerned about the shaky economy.

Meanwhile, oil prices were little changed as traders weighed a host of conflicting supply and demand concerns, from rising tensions in the Middle East to cold weather woes disrupting production in the US.