FTSE 100 Index Surged by 1.83% at Close of Trade

US Markets: Broader indices in the United States traded in green - particularly, the S&P 500 index traded 29.04 points or 0.91 per cent higher at 3,226.56, Dow Jones Industrial Average Index expanded by 227.51 points or 0.85 per cent higher at 26,870.10, and the technology benchmark index Nasdaq Composite traded higher at 10,550.49, up by 61.91 points or 0.59 per cent against the previous day close (at the time of writing, after the U.S market closed at 4:30 PM ET).

US Market News: Wall Street surged at the opening bell with growing confidence over Covid-19 vaccine. Meanwhile, the US-China tension escalated after the US disregarded China’s claims over offshore resources in the South China Sea. Among the gaining stocks, Moderna jumped over 12.0 percent as their experimental drug generated positive results in early-stage human trials. Similarly, AstraZeneca rose around 4.5 percent as their joint project with Oxford University has been progressing well to produce a workable vaccine. Meanwhile, the travel stocks - Royal Caribbean Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings gained over 12.3 percent and 8.8 percent, respectively, with optimism over the potential treatment for the coronavirus. Also, Goldman Sachs soared over 2.0 percent after delivering a strong quarterly profit. Among the declining stock, UnitedHealth dipped around 0.9 percent post unveiling that the spike in earnings was merely due to lower claims for discretionary treatments, which might fade away when things return to normal.

S&P 500 (SPX)

Top Three Performers*: Waters Corp (WAT), Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCL), and HanesBrands Inc (HBI) stocks jumped by 15.34 per cent, 12.54 per cent and 10.36 per cent, respectively.

Non Performers*: Bank of New York Mellon Corp (BK), Fortinet Inc (FTNT) and State Street Corp (STT) shares decreased by 7.08 per cent, 4.40 per cent and 2.62 per cent, respectively.

NASDAQ Composite (IXIC)

Elite Three Performers*: China Finance Online Co Ltd (JRJC), Mogo Inc (British Columbia) (MOGO) and Taiwan Liposome Co Ltd (TLC) shares traded in the green zone and expanded by 247.20 per cent, 170.65 per cent and 78.15 per cent, respectively.

Non Performers*: Perceptron Inc (PRCP), Qumu Corp (QUMU) and Rigel Pharmaceuticals Inc (RIGL) shares plunged by 26.46 per cent, 20.39 per cent and 16.36 per cent, respectively.

Top Performing Sectors*: Industrials (+1.59 per cent), Financials (+1.42 per cent) and Healthcare (+1.41 per cent).

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI)

Best Three Performers*: Raytheon Technologies Corp (RTX), American Express Co (AXP) and International Business Machine (IBM) shares were in bright spot and surged by around 2.73 per cent, 2.48 per cent and 2.19 per cent, respectively.

Non Performers*: Home Depot Inc (HD), Intel Corp (INTC) and UnitedHealth Group Inc (UNH) shares traded in red zone and were down by 0.70 per cent, 0.59 per cent and 0.27 per cent, respectively.

European Markets: The London’s broader equity benchmark index - FTSE 100 closed at 112.90 points or 1.83 per cent higher at 6,292.65, the FTSE 250 index traded last at 245.86 points or 1.43 per cent higher at 17,420.55, and the FTSE All-Share Index traded last at 59.09 points or 1.73 per cent higher at 3,476.23, respectively. European index STOXX 600 expanded by 6.47 points or 1.76 per cent, at 373.87. Among other major European indices, CAC 40 index increased by 101.52 points or 2.03 per cent and ended the trading session at 5,108.98; DAX index closed the session at 12,930.98, up by 233.62 points or 1.84 per cent.

European News: London and European markets advanced as optimism over vaccine development supported the trend. Meanwhile, the Office for National Statistics reported that Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) in the UK increased to 0.6 percent in June 2020 from 0.5 percent in May 2020. The Euro against the dollar rallied upwards as it was trading at EUR/USD 1.14 near four months high over hopes of a stimulus package from the European Central Bank. Among the shares which traded in green zone - Asos was up by 4.0 percent after the company reported improved sales during the lock-down. Glaxo SmithKline was up by nearly 3.0 percent after the FDA advisory committee voted in favour of the company to develop a treatment for blood cancer. Similarly, Tesco shares were up by close to 0.9 percent after the company partnered with Loop to provide few products in reusable containers. Among the decliners, Burberry shed around 5.9 percent after the company’s revenue declined by 45 percent year on year in Q1 FY2021. Dixons Carphone plunged by about 8.2 percent after the company suspended the final dividend payment for FY2020.

London Stock Exchange

Top Three Performers*: HOCHSCHILD MINING PLC (HOC), STOBART GROUP LD (STOB) and INTERNATIONAL CONSOLIDATED AIRLINES GROUP S.A. (IAG) accelerated significantly by 11.57 per cent, 11.19 per cent and 9.75 per cent, respectively.

Worst Performers*: DIXONS CARPHONE PLC (DC.), EDISTON PROPERTY INVESTMENT (EPIC) and CARD FACTORY PLC (CARD) plunged by 8.21 per cent, 6.02 per cent and 6.00 per cent, respectively.

FTSE 100 Index Performance

3 months FTSE 100 Index Performance (15 July 2020), before the market close (Source: EODHD/Others, Thomson Reuters)

Best three Gainers*: INTERNATIONAL CONSOLIDATED AIRLINES GROUP S.A. (LON:IAG), COMPASS GROUP PLC (LON:CPG) & WHITBREAD PLC (LON:WTB) leapt up by 9.80 per cent, 7.63 per cent and 6.90 per cent, respectively.

Non Performers*: BURBERRY GROUP PLC (LON:BRBY), BT GROUP PLC (LON: BT.A) and MORRISON (WM) SUPERMARKET (LON:MRW) traded in the red zone and decreased by 5.65 per cent, 1.73 per cent and 1.71 per cent, respectively.

Shared traded with decent volume*: (LON:LLOY) LLOYDS BANKING GROUP PLC; (LON:VOD) VODAFONE PLC; (LON: BP.) BP PLC.

Top Sectors traded in the positive zone*: Healthcare (+4.42 per cent), Consumer Cyclicals (+4.00 per cent), and Technology (+2.77 per cent).

Top Sector traded in the negative zone*: Telecommunication Services (-0.12 per cent).

Crude Oil Future Prices*: WTI crude oil (future) price and Brent future crude oil (future) price were nudging at $40.98 per barrel and $43.62 per barrel, respectively.

Currency Rates*: GBP to USD and EUR to GBP were exchanging at 1.2588 and 0.9064, respectively.

Bond Yields*: U.S 10-Year Treasury yield and UK 10-Year Government Bond yield were tilting at 0.632 per cent and 0.161 per cent, respectively.

*At the time of writing