After Three Sessions of Gains, FTSE 100 Falls as US-China Tensions Weighs on the Market

Global Markets: Benchmark indices of the NYSE traded in red, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index traded 247.24 points or 0.89% lower at 27,686.78, the broader S&P 500 index traded 27.48 points or 0.88% lower at 3,092.70, and the technology benchmark index Nasdaq Composite contracted by 93.58 points or 1.09% lower at 8,477.08 (at the time of writing, before the U.S market close at 1:35 PM ET).

Global News: On 20 November 2019, shares at the Wall Street were beaten down as the possibility of the first phase of a trade deal between two big giants - United States and China may not happen this year. Completion of the phase one trade deal could slide to the next year as Beijing is adamant about having more stringent tariff rollbacks. During the Wednesday’s trading session, shares of the Target Corp. expanded significantly by around 12.83 per cent after the discount retailer group reported third quarter sales and profits results well above the expectations and raised its full year outlook. Shares of home improvement retailer, Lowe’s Cos edged up by around 3.69 per cent during the day. The company stated that the net income for the third quarter expanded. Shares of Intelsat S.A leapt up by around 14.20 per cent during the day. Stocks beaten down in Wednesday’s session were Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., down by 0.99 per cent due to the failed drug trial of opdivo plus yervoy in patients who had a surgery to treat melanoma. AT&T stock plunged by 3.74 per cent after warnings were flashed by some analysts. After the news of construction was announced to build new $1 billion, 3-million-square-foot campus in Austin, Texas, shares of Apple plummeted by around 1.76 per cent during the trading session on Wednesday.

S&P 500 (SPX)*

Top Performers:Â Target Corp, Hologic Inc and Constellation Brands Inc are top gainers and increased by 9.14%, 3.12% and 1.16% respectively.

Worst Performers: Align Technology Inc, HP Inc, and DXC Technology Co are the top three laggards and decreased by 1.83%, 1.79% and 1.65% respectively.

NASDAQ Composite (IXIC)*

Top Performers: Aravive Inc, Diffusion Pharmaceuticals Inc, and My Size Inc are top gainers and increased by 128.88%, 84.36% and 25.95% respectively.

Worst Performers:Â Pinduoduo Inc, iMedia Brands Inc and Phio Pharmaceuticals Corp are the top three laggards and decreased by 24.46%, 21.88% and 21.04% respectively.

Top Performing Sectors*: Healthcare (up 0.05%), Basic Materials (up 0.01%) and Consumer Non-Cyclicals (up 0.00%).

Worst Performing Sectors*: Financials (down 0.18%), Industrials (down 0.33%) and Consumer Cyclicals (down 0.34%).

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI)*

Top Performers:Â Nike Inc, Merck & Co Inc and Walmart Inc are top gainers and increased by 0.52%, 0.47% and 0.29% respectively.

Worst Performers: Home Depot Inc, Caterpillar Inc and Goldman Sachs Group Inc are the top three laggards and decreased by 0.91%, 0.80%, and 0.78% respectively.

European Markets: The London’s broader equity benchmark index FTSE 100 traded at 61.31 points or 0.84% lower at 7,262.49, the FTSE 250 index snapped 53.23 points or 0.26% lower at 20,475.25, and the FTSE All-Share Index ended 29.05 points or 0.72% lower at 4,016.89 respectively. Another European equity benchmark index STOXX 600 ended at 403.82, down by 1.68 points or 0.41 per cent.

European News: Amid worries over escalation of US-China trade war after President Donald Trump threatened to raise tariffs on imports if no deal was reached, UK stocks fell on Wednesday as trade concerns weighed on Asia-exposed financial stocks. Reports were emerging that as part of a broader set of forthcoming senior management changes, HSBC will soon announce it is replacing investment banking head Samir Assaf. Driven by target-based incentives from regulator Ofwat and lower infrastructure-related costs, British water supplier United Utilities Group reported a 6.5% rise in first-half underlying earnings and reported that it exceeded expectations for net outperformance delivery incentives.

London Stock Exchange (LSE)

Top Performers*: CLIPPER LOGISTICS PLC (CLG), AO WORLD PLC (AO.) and DIALIGHT PLC (DIA) are top performers of the day and up by 19.38%, 12.80% and 10.70% respectively.

Worst Performers*: JUST GROUP PLC (JUST), KINGFISHER PLC (KGF) and SAGE GROUP PLC (SGE) are the top three laggards of the day and down by 7.30%, 6.47% and 5.01% respectively.

FTSE 100 Index

 FTSE 100 Index Chart: 5-days Price Performance (as on November-20-2019), before the market closed. (Source: Thomson Reuters)

Performers*: SCOTTISH MORTGAGE INV TST PLC (SMT), INTL CONSOLIDATED AIRLINES GROUP SA (IAG) and ASSOCIATED BRITISH FOODS PLC (ABF) are the top three gainers in today’s session and up by 0.69%, 0.58% and 0.45% respectively.

Laggards*: KINGFISHER PLC (KGF), SAGE GROUP PLC (SGE), and PEARSON PLC (PSON) are top laggards at the FTSE 100 index and down by 6.54%, 4.93% and 4.32% respectively.

Active by Volume*: CENTRICA PLC (CNA); LLOYDS BANKING GROUP PLC (LLOY), and GLENCORE PLC (GLEN).

Worst Performing Sectors*: Technology (-1.89%), Basic Materials (-1.44%), and Consumer Cyclicals (-1.31%).

Forex Rates*: GBP/USD and EUR/GBP were quoting at 1.2921 and 0.8566, respectively.

Bond Yields*: U.S 10-Year Treasuries yield was quoting at 1.741%, and the UK 10-Year Government Bond yield was trading at 0.723%, respectively.

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*At the time of writing