World stocks volatile as Wall Street boom fades - as it happened

US markets followed Europe lower on Thursday, unable to hold on to the huge gains made on Wall Street a day earlier

• Gatwick Airport majority stake sold to French group
• Dow Jones up more than 1,000 points in biggest ever one-day gain
• Peter Tuchman: Wall Street's most famous face

3.05pm GMT

Today was yet another rollercoaster day for global markets, in what has been a volatile month as 2018 draws to a close.

After a huge rally on Wall Street on Boxing Day, when the Dow surged more than 1,000 points or nearly 5%, most European markets opened higher this morning.

2.33pm GMT

US markets are down after the opening bell, as yesterday's rally runs out of steam:

1.42pm GMT

There were 216,000 initial jobless claims in the week ending 22 December according to the US Labor Department.

It was a fall from the 217,000 claims filed a week earlier (revised up from a first estimate of 214,000), and lower than the 217,000 claims predicted by economists.

U.S. jobless claims fall to 216,000, hovering near an almost five-decade low that reflects a robust labor market https://t.co/OtSaePLhyo

1.34pm GMT

The UK travel industry is another sector facing considerable pressure in 2019, according to David Madden, analyst at CMC Markets:

The travel sector had a difficult 2018, and given the concerns about global growth, a slight decline in consumer appetites and uncertainty surrounding Brexit, the industry is likely to have a downbeat start to 2019.

On the plus side, the oil price has dropped considerably, but that might be irrelevant if firms have locked in their exposure already.

1.01pm GMT

Figures out so far suggest many retailers have had a tough Christmas this year, as Brexit-cautious consumers cut back on spending.

The struggle to win customers will intensify in 2019, according to a report by KPMG and Ipsos Retail Think Tank.

It is too easy to point the finger at Brexit as the singular cause of all the woes in the industry. There is in fact a much wider array of forces at play currently. These forces have been gathering momentum for a number of years and are by no means new.

Changing consumer behaviour, the over-supply of physical stores, high levels of legacy debt, regulatory and compliance costs, macro-economic and geopolitical challenges, and a lack of talent at the top of retail businesses to help deliver much-needed change, were all highlighted as forces that would impact negatively on the industry in 2019 - regardless of the outcome of Brexit.

Related: Boxing Day sales draw fewer UK shoppers

12.32pm GMT

European markets are a sea of red as afternoon trading gets underway... the early boost from Wall Street's Boxing Day surge has well and truly worn off.

Here are the latest scores:

11.50am GMT

The outlook for oil prices is bleak, according to analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald Europe.

Ashley Kelty and Jack Allardyce write:

Crude prices took a battering on Monday as the 'Santa rout' continued to hit the markets. With investors spooked by fears over weakening demand and the near term supply glut, prices fell sharply in thin volumes.

The sharp drop even after the impending imposition of new quotas by OPEC+ continues to worry the cartel, with the UAE Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazroueei reportedly claiming that OPEC+ will hold an extraordinary meeting to discuss increasing the cuts and/or extending the period of the new quotas (beyond the four months currently in place).

11.04am GMT

Lower oil prices are weighing on the FTSE, with Brent crude down 1.7% at $53.54 a barrel on renewed fears of a supply glut.

The UK's FTSE 100 gave up early gains and sunk to lows not seen since August 2016 as a dip in oil stocks on oversupply concerns overrode initial cheer from Wall Street where strong U.S. data had helped drive a dramatic rebound.

"Oil stocks sink FTSE 100" https://t.co/AAnZgjY32H

10.52am GMT

The FTSE 100 is currently down 36 points or 0.5% at 6,650.44 - the lowest since early August 2016 in the aftermath of the Brexit vote.

Here are the biggest fallers as it stands:

10.25am GMT

A quick update on the pound, which is roughly flat against the dollar this morning, at $1.2634.

Against the euro, sterling is down 0.3% at a1.1091.

10.05am GMT

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, ponders what history might tell us about current market volatility:

The FTSE 100 is treating a 5% surge in America's S&P 500 benchmark with a good degree of caution and it is easy to see why, even if that was the eighteenth biggest single-day gain in the US index since 1970.

Encouragingly, three of the seventeen other 5%-plus daily advances came immediately in the aftermath of the 1987 Crash, when buying did prove a good plan, and two more in March 2009 when the S&P finally hit bottom as the Great Financial Crisis began to abate.

9.31am GMT

US futures are also down, after yesterday's major rally on Wall Street:

US futures down 1% this morning following yesterday's 5% rally...#DOW 22633 -1.06%#SPX 2442 -1.02%#NASDAQ 6176 -1.34%

9.27am GMT

Wall Street's Boxing Day surge has failed to materialise in Europe, where markets are now mixed:

9.02am GMT

Gatwick Airport is back in the news today but thankfully it's not drone-related.

US investment fund Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) is selling a majority stake (50.01%) in the UK's second biggest airport for 2.9bn to France's Vinci Airports.

As Gatwick's new industrial partner, Vinci Airports will support and encourage growth of traffic, operational efficiency and leverage its international expertise in the development of commercial activities to further improve passenger satisfaction and experience.

Related: Gatwick airport sold to French group

8.36am GMT

One man who has tracked the ups and downs of Wall Street more than most is Peter Tuchman - the most famous face on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

Related: Peter Tuchman: rollercoaster ride is written on Wall St's most famous face

8.19am GMT

The Boxing Day surge on Wall Street was not attributed to any one factor, but was probably helped by a Mastercard report which showed a jump in consumer spending over the holiday season.

Stephen Innes, on the Singapore trading desk of currency specialist Oanda, gives his take:

Thankfully for investors, the relentless selling on the back of risk-off sentiment which prevailed leading up to Xmas has mercifully halted as US stock markets recorded significant gains with the Dow surging over 1,000 points while adding the most significant points gain in history.

It didn't take much to persuade the bargain hunters into action as early retailer reports are all pointing to a strong holiday season while investors took comfort in Kevin Hassett's, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, affirmation that Jerome Powell's job is "100 per cent" safe.

8.07am GMT

And we're off...

Most major European markets opened higher but Germany's DAX and Italy's FTSE MIB are lacking in festive cheer:

7.56am GMT

Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the world economy, the financial markets, the eurozone and business.

European markets are reopening today after the Christmas break and investors will be hoping to see some of the festive cheer seen in the US on Boxing Day spreading to this side of the Atlantic.

Related: Dow up more than 1,000 points in biggest one-day gain ever