FTSE Slips as Inflation Fears Trump Nvidia Boost

The FTSE 100 index closed down 85.58 points, 0.8%, at 10,792.54 on Thursday despite technology stocks getting a boost from Nvidia.

Nvidia's better-than-forecast guidance after bumper second quarter earnings led to a 7.5% increase in the company's stock price, with chief financial officer Colette Kress predicting 70% revenue growth in financial 2028, far exceeding analysts' expectations of 45%.

Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, commented on Nvidia's results: 'With revenues this big, and demand for its products getting bigger every month, it will be a brave trader who will bet against Nvidia.'

However, the overall market failed to follow suit, with investors remaining cautious ahead of Kevin Warsh's speech at Jackson Hole. Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club, thinks that sentiment 'looks set to become more cautious as investors refocus on worries about inflation proving sticky, huge government debt piles and the prospect of interest rates lingering at elevated levels.'

Cleveland Federal Reserve president Beth Hammack repeated her call for higher interest rates, saying recent inflation data show the central bank is still too far from its goal.