Fresnillo surged by 4.55% at close of trade; FTSE 100 up 0.63%

US Markets: Broader indices in the United States traded on a mixed note - particularly, the S&P 500 index traded 8.53 points or 0.27 per cent higher at 3,224.10, Dow Jones Industrial Average Index contracted by 13.44 points or 0.05 per cent lower at 26,721.27, and the technology benchmark index Nasdaq Composite traded higher at 10,504.12, up by 30.29 points or 0.29 per cent against the previous day close (at the time of writing, before the U.S market close at 12:10 PM ET).

US Market News: The Wall street opened mixed over lower fears of rising coronavirus cases. Meanwhile, the US Federal Reserve expanded its main street program to cover non-profit organizations. The US home construction increased by 17 percent month on month in June as the builder's ramped-up construction post-lock-down. Among the gaining stocks, Moderna was up by close to 6.1 percent after the European Union is in talks with the company to purchase coronavirus vaccines once developed. Blackrock was up by about 2.9 percent after the company reported strong quarterly result. Similarly, Principia Biopharma inched up by about 0.9 percent after the speculation of a possible acquisition of the company by Sanofi. Among the decliners, Netflix plunged by close to 7.3 percent after the company stated the inability to carry on the exponential growth. Microsoft's shares were down by 1.1 percent after the company reported that it had reduced the workforce in some verticals. Lyft was down by 0.3 percent after the company said it would distribute partition shields to the drivers.

S&P 500 (SPX)

Top Three Performers*: BlackRock Inc (BLK), J B Hunt Transport Services Inc (JBHT), and PulteGroup Inc (PHM) stocks jumped by 3.57 per cent, 3.43 per cent and 3.21 per cent, respectively.

Non Performers*: Netflix Inc (NFLX), State Street Corp (STT) and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) shares decreased by 7.26 per cent, 2.01 per cent and 1.99 per cent, respectively.

NASDAQ Composite (IXIC)

Elite Three Performers*: RumbleOn Inc (RMBL), Verona Pharma Plc (VRNA) and Applied DNA Sciences Inc (APDN) shares traded in the green zone and expanded by 84.61 per cent, 71.58 per cent and 59.07 per cent, respectively.

Worst Three Performers*: Globus Maritime Ltd (GLBS), Aehr Test Systems (AEHR) and GreenPro Capital Corp (GRNQ) shares contracted by 28.99 per cent, 20.90 per cent and 19.08 per cent, respectively.

Top Performing Sectors*: Utilities (+1.46 per cent), Basic Materials (+0.84 per cent) and Industrials (+0.74 per cent).

Top Worst Sectors*: Technology (-0.46 per cent) and Consumer Cyclicals (-0.07 per cent).

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI)

Best Three Performers*: Pfizer Inc (PFE), Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (WBA) and Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO) shares were in bright spot and surged by around 1.35 per cent, 1.16 per cent and 1.05 per cent, respectively.

Worst Three Performers*: Microsoft Corp (MSFT), JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM) and American Express Co (AXP) shares plunged by 0.87 per cent, 0.29 per cent and 0.23 per cent, respectively.

European Markets: The London’s broader equity benchmark index FTSE 100 traded at 39.61 points or 0.63 per cent higher at 6,290.30, the FTSE 250 index snapped at 26.64 points or 0.15 per cent higher at 17,347.93, and the FTSE All-Share Index ended 18.74 points or 0.54 per cent higher at 3,472.74, respectively. Another European index STOXX 600 increased by 0.58 points or 0.16 per cent, at 372.71. Among other major European indices, CAC 40 index decreased by 15.86 points or 0.31 per cent and ended the trading session at 5,069.42; DAX index closed the session at 12,919.61, up by 44.64 points or 0.35 per cent.

European News: London and European markets advanced on Friday. The UK's prime minister Boris Johnson announced a financial package of £3 billion to support the NHS. Office for National Statistics reported that the gross debt of the UK government was £1,877.5 billion at the end of the financial year ending March 2020, which is close to 84.7 percent of the GDP. Meanwhile, Eurostat reported that the annual inflation in the Euro area increased to 0.3 percent in June 2020 from 0.1 percent in May 2020. Among the gaining stocks, Renishaw was up by 9.9 percent after the company raised its annual revenue forecast. Rio Tinto was up by nearly 2.5 percent after the company reported increased iron-ore shipments in the second quarter. Similarly, Lloyds shares were up by close to 0.2 percent after the company said it would hire more black staff in the senior roles. Among the decliners, Hays shed around 4.4 percent after the company announced that it expects to incur a loss in the summer months. EasyJet plunged by about 3.9 percent after the company's pilots voted against chief operating officer Peter Bellew related to job cuts and labour relations.

London Stock Exchange

Top Three Performers*: ASTON MARTIN LAGONDA GLOBAL (AML), RENISHAW PLC (RSW) and FIRSTGROUP PLC (FGP) accelerated significantly by 12.15 per cent, 8.80 per cent and 8.76 per cent, respectively.

Worst Performers*: MITIE GROUP PLC (MTO), DIGNITY PLC (DTY) and BANK OF GEORGIA GROUP PLC (BGEO) plunged by 9.76 per cent, 7.50 per cent and 6.02 per cent, respectively.

FTSE 100 Index Performance

3 months FTSE 100 Index Performance (17 July 2020), before the market close (Source: Refinitiv, Thomson Reuters)

Best three Gainers*: ASTRAZENCA PLC (LON:AZN), HOMESERVE PLC (LON:HSV) & FRESNILLO PLC (LON:FRES) leapt up by 4.39 per cent, 3.38 per cent and 3.11 per cent, respectively.

Non Performers*: INTERNATIONAL CONSOLIDATED AIRLINES GROUP S.A. (LON:IAG), BARCLAYS PLC (LON:BARC) and ITV PLC (LON:ITV) traded in the red zone and decreased by 2.99 per cent, 2.65 per cent and 2.39 per cent, respectively.

Stocks traded with decent volume*: (LLOY) LLOYDS BANKING GROUP PLC; (BARC) BARCLAYS PLC; (VOD) VODAFONE PLC.

Top Sectors traded in the positive zone*: Healthcare (+2.95 per cent), Basic Materials (+2.05 per cent), and Utilities (+1.56 per cent).

Top Sectors traded in the negative zone*: Financials (-0.55 per cent), Energy (-0.45 per cent), and Consumer Cyclicals (-0.03 per cent).

Crude Oil Future Prices*: WTI crude oil (future) price and Brent future crude oil (future) price were hovering at $40.59 per barrel and $43.09 per barrel, respectively.

Forex Rates*: GBP to USD and EUR to GBP were trading at 1.2566 and 0.912, respectively.

Bond Yields*: U.S 10-Year Treasury yield and UK 10-Year Government Bond yield were tilting at 0.625 per cent and 0.166 per cent, respectively.

*At the time of writing