FTSE 100 Index up by 2.61% at Close of Trade in Wednesday’s Trading Session

US Markets: Broader indices in the United States traded in green - particularly, the S&P 500 index traded 37.48 points or 1.22 per cent higher at 3,118.30, Dow Jones Industrial Average Index expanded by 433.66 points or 1.68 per cent higher at 26,176.31, and the technology benchmark index Nasdaq Composite traded higher at 9,666.46, up by 58.09 points or 0.60 per cent against its previous day close (at the time of writing, before the U.S market close at 11:45 AM ET).

US News: Wall Street opened with extended gains and thus, lifted the S&P 500 to the three-months high as economic data bolstered optimism of steady recovery from the economic slump. Meanwhile, 18,000 National Guard troops deployed across 28 states to restore order and imposed a 7 pm curfew in Washington DC. Also, the Automatic Data Processing reported that a net 2.76 million workers lost their jobs in the month to mid-May, which is far better than the 9 million of the expected figures. Among the gaining stocks, Lyft gained over 9.0 per cent post reporting a 26 per cent jump in rides on its platform. Zoom Video Communications surged around 3.9 per cent after posting better than expected quarterly results. Exxon Mobil surged over 2.4 per cent, following the oil price rally. Among the decliners, Facebook shed over 0.9 per cent after scrapping the accounts associated with white supremacists. AMC Entertainment dipped over 2.3 per cent post warning regarding the probable bankruptcy with the prolonged lockdown.

S&P 500 (SPX)

Top Performers*: Microchip Technology Inc (MCHP), DXC Technology Co (DXC), and Simon Property Group Inc (SPG) shares increased by 10.41 per cent, 9.84 per cent and 9.61 per cent, respectively.

Non Performers*: Newmont Corporation (NEM), Incyte Corp (INCY) and Quest Diagnostics Inc (DGX) shares decreased by 3.90 per cent, 2.98 per cent and 2.81 per cent, respectively.

NASDAQ Composite (IXIC)

Top Performers*: FSD Pharma Inc, Secoo Holding Ltd and Genius Brands International Inc shares expanded by 225.16 per cent, 69.77 per cent and 63.93 per cent, respectively.

Worst Performers*: Evofem Biosciences Inc, Summer Infant Inc and Cellectar Biosciences Inc shares plunged by 24.79 per cent, 20.11 per cent and 19.70 per cent, respectively.

Top Performing Sectors*: Financials (+2.24 per cent), Industrials (+1.67 per cent), and Utilities (+1.58 per cent).

Top Worst Sector*: Healthcare (-0.57per cent).

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI)

Top Performers*: Boeing Co, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Dow Inc shares climbed by around 4.83 per cent, 4.45 per cent and 4.06 per cent, respectively.

Worst Performers*: Pfizer Inc, Johnson & Johnson and UnitedHealth Group Inc shares plunged by 1.34 per cent, 0.83 per cent and 0.80 per cent, respectively.

European Markets: The London’s broader equity benchmark index FTSE 100 traded at 162.27 points or 2.61 per cent higher at 6,382.41, the FTSE 250 index snapped at 460.77 points or 2.64 per cent higher at 17,897.08, and the FTSE All-Share Index ended 89.29 points or 2.59 per cent higher at 3,531.75, respectively. Another European index STOXX 600 ended up by 9.15 points or 2.54 per cent, at 368.92. Among other major European indices, DAX index closed the session at 12,487.36, up by 466.08 points or 3.88 per cent; CAC 40 index increased by 163.41 points or 3.36 per cent and ended the trading session at 5,022.38.

European News: London and European markets continued the rally and jumped today as investor sentiments were optimistic with growth in China’s services sector in May, strengthening hopes for a swift rebound of the economy from Coronavirus-induced slump. Meanwhile, the UK shop prices plunged 2.4 per cent in May, according to the British Retail Consortium trade body. Among the gaining stocks, TUI Group climbed over 8.4 per cent as it was driven by the deal with Boeing. Chemring Group surged around 23.4 per cent post raising dividends and maintaining its annual targets. Lufthansa gained about 4.1 per cent post announcing the restructuring measures. Similarly, Renault SA jumped over 7.0 per cent post finalizing a loan of GBP 5 billion from the French Government. On the flip side, SSP dipped around 2.2 per cent post reporting first-half loss due to store closures.

London Stock Exchange

Top Three Performers*: CHEMRING GROUP PLC (CHG), HAMMERSON PLC (HMSO) and NEWRIVER REIT PLC (NRR) accelerated significantly by 27.17 per cent, 24.81 per cent and 22.82 per cent, respectively.

Worst Performers*: HOCHSCHILD MINING PLC (HOC), TEN ENTERTAINMENT GROUP PLC (TEG) and POLYMETAL INTERNATIONAL PLC (POLY) plunged by 17.70 per cent, 7.21 per cent and 7.11 per cent, respectively.

FTSE 100 Index Performance

3 months FTSE 100 Index Performance (June-03-2020), before the market closed (Source: Refinitiv, Thomson Reuters)

Best Gainers*: ROLLS-ROYCE HOLDINGS PLC (LON: RR.), INTERNATIONAL CONSOLIDATED AIRLINES GROUP S.A. (LON:IAG) & EASYJET PLC (LON:EZJ) expanded by 9.75 per cent, 9.22 per cent and 8.4 per cent, respectively.

Non Performers*: POLYMETAL INTERNATIONAL PLC (LON:POLY), FRESNILLO PLC (LON:FRES) and HARGREAVES LANSDOWN PLC (LON: HL.) traded in red zone and decreased by 7.27 per cent, 5.70 per cent and 2.06 per cent, respectively.

Active Three Stocks (traded with high volume)*: (LLOY) LLOYDS BANKING GROUP PLC; (BARC) BARCLAYS PLC; (BP.) BP PLC.

Top Sectors traded in the positive zone*: Energy (+4.32 per cent), Financials (+4.13 per cent) and Industrials (+2.81 per cent).

Crude Oil Prices*: WTI crude oil (future) price was tilting at $36.77 per barrel, and Brent future crude oil (future) price was nudging at $39.45 per barrel.

Forex Rates*: GBP to USD and EUR to GBP were hovering at 1.2591 and 0.8924, respectively.

Bond Yields*: U.S 10-Year Treasury yield was tilting at 0.757 per cent, and the UK 10-Year Government Bond yield was hovering at 0.273 per cent, respectively.

*At the time of writing