FTSE-100 index rises by around 16% from the lows hit last week on fiscal stimulus boost

US Markets: Broader indices in the United States traded in green - particularly, the S&P 500 index traded 117.92 points or 4.82% higher at 2,565.25, Dow Jones Industrial Average Index expanded by 1,303.18 points or 6.29% higher at 22,008.09, and the technology benchmark index Nasdaq Composite traded higher at 7,658.62, up by 240.77 points or 3.25% against its previous day close (at the time of writing, before the U.S market close at 1:50 PM ET).

US News: Wall Street accelerated in Wednesday’s trading session since policymakers reached a mighty USD 2 trillion stimulus to vanquish the economic disruption caused by Covid-19 contagion. Coronavirus surges  across the United States, affected Louisiana and small businesses and industries massively. During the pandemic, Americans have been stocking up food items, resulting in Target Corp's sales gained by 20% in March versus last year. Following the Senate agreement over rescue bill, Boeing’s stock surged by around 12%; however, the CEO affirmed that Company would abstain government to dilute the existing shareholding. Likewise, American Airlines and Delta Air Lines also zoom over 5% with prospects of government support amidst the turmoil of Covid-19 outbreak. Contrarily, Hyatt’s stock plunged by 3% due to travel bans globally. Also, Major US bank stocks are plummeting amid coronavirus crisis affecting credit profiles; JPMorgan and Bank of America were down by nearly 2.5%

S&P 500 (SPX)

Top Performers*: Boeing Co, MGM Resorts International and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd shares increased by 20.47%, 20.28% and 19.93% respectively.

Worst Performers*: IGP Photonics Corp, Centurylink Inc and Verisk Analytics Inc shares decreased by 6.06%, 5.83% and 5.14% respectively.

NASDAQ Composite (IXIC)

Top Performers*: Astrotech Corp, XpresSpa Group Inc, and T2 Biosystems Inc shares expanded by 227.93%, 156.41% and 115.50% respectively.

Worst Performers*: Immutep Ltd, IMAC Holdings Inc and Thermogenesis Holdings Inc shares plunged by 54.84%, 37.37% and 37.20% respectively.

Top Performing Sectors*: Energy (Up 1.89%), Industrials (Up 0.94%) and Financials (Up 0.58%).

Top Worst Sectors*: Consumer Non-Cyclicals (Down 0.59%), Healthcare (Down 0.52%) and Utilities (Down 0.34%).

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI)

Top Performers*: Boeing Co, Nike Inc and American Express Co. accelerated by 20.62%, 7.84% and 5.44%.

Worst Performers*: Travelers Companies Inc, Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc and Walmart Inc are top laggards and decreased by 2.88%, 1.64% and 1.60% respectively.

European Markets: FTSE 100 (London’s broader equity benchmark index) closed at 242.19 points or 4.45% higher at 5,688.20, the FTSE 250 index traded 647.18 points or 4.57% higher at 14,819.91, and the FTSE All-Share Index ended 133.40 points or 4.49% higher at 3,102.98 respectively. Another European equity benchmark index STOXX 600 was up by 9.38 points or 3.09 per cent at 313.38, after the market closed.

European News: Driven by massive US stimulus package along with steps taken by global central banks, governments to cushion the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, London shares extended gains in Wednesday’s trading session. The broader FTSE-100 index closed the session on a positive note and was up by 4.5 per cent. The major index accelerated by 16 per cent from its lows hit last week, thanks to stimulus deal. On Wednesday, England's chief medical officer, Chris Whitty stated that though it’s difficult but Britain's health service, the NHS will probably be able to cope up with the deadly virus. It was reported that Prince Charles (71-year old), heir to the British throne tested positive for the coronavirus. Among the shares in limelight: Persimmon Plc (housebuilder) and McCarthy & Stone (retirement home developer) have started orderly shutdown of their construction sites. Rentokil Initial Plc suspended its dividend payments and withdrew its financial year 2020 outlook. It led to plunge in its shares by around 8.2 per cent. SSP Plc - British travel and food company shares accelerated significantly by around 23 per cent, driven by emergency issuance of shares worth 20 per cent of its equity capital. SSP and Unite Group (student housing operator) will likely come under government's emergency lending scheme. Shares of Halfords leapt up by around 26 per cent as the group is quite optimistic to operate within its debt facilities. However, warning statement was also given with respect to drop in sales by around 25 per cent and cancellation of dividend payment.

London Stock Exchange

Top Performers*: RESTAURANT GROUP PLC (RTN), MARSTON'S PLC (MARS) and THE GYM GROUP PLC (GYM) are top movers and rose by 50.59%, 36.78% and 25.24% respectively.

Worst Performers*: RENTOKIL INITIAL PLC (RTO), BIFFA PLC (BIFF) and MITIE GROUP PLC (MTO) plunged by 18.09%, 12.89% and 12.98% respectively.

FTSE 100 Index

5 days FTSE 100 Index Performance (March-25-2020), before the market closed (Source: TR)

Best Gainers*: JD SPORTS FASHION PLC (JD.), M&G PLC (MNG) and ASSOCIATED BRITISH FOODS PLC (ABF) expanded by 10.90%, 10.58% and 10.57% respectively.

Non Performers*: RENTOKIL INITIAL PLC (RTO), CARNIVAL PLC (CCL) and OCADO GROUP PLC (OCDO) plunged by 18.39%, 8.00% and 7.72% respectively.

Shares traded with high-level volume*: (LLOY) LLOYDS BANKING GROUP PLC; (BP) BP PLC; (BARC) BARCLAYS PLC.

Sectors traded in the positive zone*: Utilities (up 3.38%), Consumer Cyclicals (up 2.99%) and Technology (up 2.75%).

Sectors traded in the negative zone*: Consumer Non-Cyclicals (-0.79%) and Healthcare (-0.29%).

Forex Rates*: GBP/USD and EUR/GBP were hovering at 1.1865 and 0.9167, respectively.

Bond Yields*: U.S 10-Year Treasuries yield was tilting at 0.810%, and the UK 10-Year Government Bond yield was hovering at 0.429%, respectively.

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*At the time of writing