FTSE Flatlines as Gloomy Consumers Dampen Retail Rally

London’s benchmark index yawned through another session—retail sales pop got smothered under bearish sentiment faster than a crypto bull market gets rekt by macro fears.

Sentiment Slump vs. Spending Spike:
Shoppers opened wallets but closed their hearts, proving once again that consumer moods move markets more than actual consumption (take notes, Wall Street).

Traders Shrug:
The FTSE’s non-reaction screams ’meh’—another day of institutional investors pretending they can time the market while algos run the show.

Closing thought: If retail sales were an NFT, today’s confidence drop would be the rug pull. Classic fiat markets—always finding new ways to disappoint.

GfK reports UK Consumer Confidence dropped more than expected, while Retail Sales showed an unexpected rise.

• GfK Consumer Confidence -23
• Retail Sales ex fuel MoM up 0.5%
• BoE pessimistic on growth

The FTSE opened slightly higher today in pre-market trading but failed to maintain momentum after the bell. The index is now trading down 0.18% on the day after weaker consumer confidence.

Contrasting Consumer Data

The FTSE fails to follow its peers higher today, as the DAX and CAC both post gains of 0.65% and 0.21% respectively.

GfK Consumer Confidence for April showed a drop to -23 from -19 in March. The research firm said a turbulent financial market and rising energy costs were the main reasons.

Today’s data is the lowest since December 2023, which contrasts with the sharp increase in consumer spending for the same month.

Retail Sales unexpectedly jumped across the board. Sales ex Fuel MoM jumped 0.5% when economists had forecasted a drop of 0.4%.

The all-inclusive Retail Sales MoM also jumped higher than forecasts at 0.4% compared to expectations of a decline by 0.4%.

Nicholas Found, head of commercial content at Retail Economics commented:

“Retailers face an uphill battle to protect margins, sustain investment, and navigate an increasingly complex trading environment,”

FTSE Live Chart

UK Retailers Subdued Forecast

British retailers posted gloomy outlook statements this month; Tesco and Sainsbury’s, the UK’s 2 largest food retailers warned profit growth was unlikely in 2025.

JD Sports also added to the negative sentiment warning of little to no growth even before taking into account the potential impact of tariffs.

BoE Pessimistic on Growth

Governor Bailey said on Thursday that he expected a shock to growth caused by US tariffs and retaliatory tariffs from other countries.

Other members have stated that a trade war could cause deflation, the market has now priced in a 25-basis point interest rate cut at the next MPC meeting on May 8.

The move would bring the central bank rate down to 4.25% from 4.5%, which is still much higher than its peers in the Eurozone.

However, the latest inflation data shows a decrease from 2.8% to 2.6% in March, continuing the trend from 3% in January.