FTSE 100 Index Performance In Thursday’s Session

US Market Updates

Shares in the United States were trading on a mixed note. At the time of writing, S&P 500 rose by 3.74 points or 0.13 per cent to 2,930.99, Dow Jones Industrial Average Index was reduced by 103.90 points or 0.39 per cent to 26,493.15 and the technology benchmark Nasdaq Composite was up by 27.82 points or 0.34 per cent and quoting at 8,129.83.

After the United States decided to intact its sanction on Iran, Brent Crude in the commodity market surged above $75.60 for the first time since October 2018. Substantially, taking supply from IRAN comes to 1 million barrel a day or terming it in a zero state. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia is in no phrase of fast movement to offset those barrels.

European Market Updates

Shares in the European market closed in the red: the FTSE 100 index ended lower by 37.62 points or 0.50 per cent to 7,434.13, while the STOXX 600 was down by 0.83 points or 0.21 per cent to 390.15. The FTSE 250 index closed at 19,871.05, reflecting a decrease of 122.62 points or 0.61 per cent. The FTSE All-Share index declined by 20.61 points or 0.50 per cent to 4,075.63 at the end of the day.

Theresa May’s government decided to publish a job add for the next chief of the Bank of England. It has raised speculation over who will become the next chief of the BoE and more importantly for how long, as the UK is scheduled to crash out from EU bloc by the end of October, this year.

Recent News

• SHELL: The gasoline producing unit when resumed at Royal Dutch gave 218,200 barrel per day (bpd) Norco, Louisiana. People associated with plant operations stated that the refinery was delayed between one and two weeks.
• SAINSBURY'S: Chances are very less that Sainsbury’s & Asda, the British support of U.S retailer Walmart will make an appeal against Britain’s regulatory authority verdict on their merger as proposed.
• OIL: Oil prices were split on Thursday, substantially supported by the sanctions against Iran; surged in US supply, and concerns of an economic slowdown.
• GOLD: A rise in prices of Gold was recorded on Thursday as weak data from Germany, dollar holdbacks the further gains for the metal along with the decline in equities that raised a concern about the pace of global economic growth.
• EX-DIVS: Fresnillo, Antofagasta, Legal & General, Glencore, Informa and Spirax-Sarco will trade without allowance to their latest dividend payout on Thursday.

London Stock Exchange

The top-performing stocks were CARPETRIGHT PLC (CPR), PETRA DIAMONDS LIMITED (PDL) and BATM ADVANCED COMMUNICATIONS LD (BVC), which surged by 83.01 per cent, 10.96 per cent and 10.20 per cent respectively. The top laggards’ stocks were FUNDING CIRCLE HOLDINGS PLC (FCH), ACACIA MINING PLC (ACA) and GULF MARINE SERVICES PLC (GMS), which decreased by 13.39 per cent, 8.02 per cent and 7.78 per cent respectively.

Large-cap equity index FTSE 100

 5-day Daily Price Chart (as on April 25, 2019). (Source: Thomson Reuters)

Top performers were SMITH (DS) PLC (SMDS), RECKITT BENCKISER GROUP PLC (RB.) and UNITED UTILITIES GROUP PLC (UU.), which climbed by 1.56 per cent, 1.31 per cent and 1.15 per cent respectively. The top laggards were TAYLOR WIMPEY PLC (TW.), LEGAL & GENERAL GROUP PLC (LGEN) and SAINSBURY (J) PLC (SBRY), which declined by 5.36 per cent, 4.94 per cent and 4.68 per cent respectively. The top volume leaders were Lloyd Banking Group Plc (LLOY), VODAFONE GROUP PLC (VOD), and BARCLAYS PLC (BARC).

On sector specific front, the top performers of the FTSE 100 index were Healthcare & Utilities and on the other side, top three fallers of the FTSE 100 index were Financials, Technology and Basic Materials.

Exchange Rates*

• GBP/USD was hovering at 1.2893.
• EUR/GBP was hovering at 0.8635.

Bond Yields*

• US 10Y Treasury Bond yield was trading at 2.534 per cent.
• UK 10Y Bond yield was trading at 1.154 per cent.

*At the time of writing