FTSE 100 ticks higher ahead of US GDP

The FTSE 100 continued to edge higher on Thursday morning ahead of US GDP figures out later on.

AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould said: “Asian markets were continuing to make ground as they returned after the Lunar New Year break as optimism over China’s reopening continues to build despite surging Covid cases.

“Booze is supposed to be pretty recession resistant but Diageo sparked some concern from investors, despite an otherwise solid set of first-half results, by reporting slowing growth in its key North American market.

“Wizz Air was punished for adopting a more cautious tone than its competitors on the outlook for the holidays market, helping to bring some sobriety to a share price which had doubled in just three months.”

Meanwhile. Tesla’s troubles in recent times have really put the brakes on what had been a rapidly accelerating share price but its latest earnings report has helped charge things up again.

“Posting its best-ever quarterly revenue and profit and beating expectations was always likely to be rewarded by shareholders, and so it proved with the shares making material gains in after-hours trading.

“That’s the good news but there were less positive takeaways from the quarterly earnings. Margins are going to be pressured by the price cuts Tesla has introduced to shore up sales – even if they are expected to remain industry leading. The devil will be in the detail and the market will be watching closely to see just how much profitability Tesla is having to sacrifice to ensure demand holds up.

“It’s good to see the appropriate focus on getting production levels up and seeking to control the costs which are within its compass to control. The company’s hotly anticipated ‘cyber truck’ is on track to start production later this year – an important milestone for the group.

“All in all, this update will have gone some way to reassuring investors concerned about Elon Musk’s focus on and commitment to his main business. Though he still has some way to go to completely erase the memory of his Twitter diversion.”