Even though the global market players are worried about the economic downturn, it can be said that the earnings season might attract the attention of the investors. At least for some time, the market participants would be more concerned about the corporate earnings of the US companies even though the global slowdown worries prevail. On Friday, FTSE 100 ended the session in red and wrapped up the session by falling 0.14%. Talking about the sectoral performance towards the end of last week, Energy, Utilities, Consumer Cyclicals, as well as Basic Metals, were the sectors which were on the positive note during the day. However, sectors which negatively impacted the broader FTSE 100 Index were Healthcare, Telecommunication as well as Consumer Non-cyclical.
Not so long ago, significant downward momentum was witnessed in the stock of Metro Bank PLC (MTRO) primarily because of the worries related to the internal risk management system.
Lately, Le Maire, France's finance minister told Brexiteers that EU bloc is not going to renegotiate its withdrawal deal again and forecasted that leaving EU bloc in the absence of any agreement will be catastrophic for the UK. On 25th January, FTSE 100 Index closed at 6809.22, down marginally. For the week FTSE 100 Index closed at a loss of around 2%. European market index STOXX 600 closed at 357.84, up 0.61%. The scenario at global front was a bit shaken up with US President, Donald Trump's adviser Roger Stone arrested on Friday, for covering up his engagements with Wikileaks.
Even, Singapore's largest conglomerate by market capitalization, Jardine Matheson Holding Ltd. (JARD.SI), plummeted heavily on Thursday before swift rebounding. Stock price tanked in the morning when the market opened. Coming to London stock exchange listed telecom group, Vodafone, a telecommunications firm reported a fall in revenue for its third quarter. For the three months to December 31, Vodafone's revenue was EUR11.00 billion, down 6.8% on a reported basis year-on-year.
On January 25, 2019, GBP/USD firmed up to 1.32, post-DUP decided to back May's Plan B. Initially, GBP/USD was trading at 1.3167, up by 0.81% and EUR/GBP was trading at 0.8659, slightly up. Thus, strengthening pound would weigh on FTSE 100 index.
After US put sanctions on energy trade between the US and Venezuela, a move that is catastrophic for Venezuela, oil prices in the international market are rising. Lately, Brent Crude oil was seen to be trading at $61.23/barrel and WTI Crude oil at $53.34, up by 0.29% and 0.49% respectively.
On LSE, stocks like Fresnillo Plc (FRES.L), Antofagasta Plc (ANTO.L), Glencore Plc (GLEN.L) and Anglo American Plc (AAL.L) were the top movers on FTSE 100 index and up by 6.14%, 3.69%, 3.24%, and 4.05% respectively. On the other hand, stocks like Vodafone Group Plc (VOD.L), InterContinental Hotels Group Plc (IHG.L), Severn Trent Plc (SVT.L) were the top laggards on the FTSE 100 Index and down by 4.9%, 2.87%, and 2.58% respectively.
Sectors which were trading in green on FTSE 100 Index during the day were Basic Metals, Financials, and Technology and on the side sectors like Telecommunications, Healthcare and Utilities were the top laggards on FTSE 100 Index.