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UK stock markets are likely to open on a positive note on Friday, 8 January, tracking the positive Asian cues led by a higher closing of Wall Street with Japan’s Nikkei 225 registering a gain of more than 2 per cent. The FTSE 100 has advanced for four straight days until yesterday with the barometer finishing in green on the back of a higher stimulus package from the soon-to-be-inducted Biden administration.
Equities mark fourth straight gain
The benchmark index ended with a marginal gain of 0.22 per cent at 6,856.96 after surrendering the morning uptick on Thursday due to the restated worries over the coronavirus pandemic. The broader market indices including FTSE 250, FTSE 350 and FTSE All-Share terminated on a largely similar note following the headline FTSE 100 with gains of up to 0.22 per cent.
Shares of J Sainsbury Plc (LON: SBRY) gained the most out of the 101 constituents of FTSE 100 on Thursday ending nearly 7 per cent higher at close. The stock of J Sainsbury, the second-largest supermarket operator of the UK, finished 6.88 per cent higher at GBX 248.50 after rising as much as 7.65 per cent to an intraday high of GBX 250.30 from the previous close of GBX 232.50.
Uncertainty remains
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has highlighted that about 4,000 financial services firms in the United Kingdom are at “heightened risk of failure” due to the repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic.
The capital market watchdog had identified these firms at the end of October 2020. As per the FCA, 30 per cent of the identified firms have the “potential to cause harm in failure”. Separately, the Bank of England’s executive director for markets Andrew Hauser told Reuters about more frequent aftereffects due to the disturbances originating from the global health emergency.
GBP stays flat
The GBP vs USD pair traded largely unchanged on Friday in the positive region with a unit of pound sterling equalling 1.3573 USD, up 0.08 per cent at around 0655 GMT, from the previous close of 1.3563. The Bank of England had fixed a currency conversion interbank rate of 1.3550 USD and 1.1032 EUR against a unit of pound on Wednesday, 6 January.
Commodity check
The safe-haven assets witnessed a shift of focus on Friday with the investors turning away from gold after the greenback strengthened slightly. An ounce of gold was trading at $1,907.95, down 0.31 per cent from the last close of $1,913.89. The energy market continued to be on the higher side with the Brent crude oil rising 0.66 per cent to $54.74 per barrel, while a barrel of WTI crude traded at $51.14, up 0.61 per cent on Friday.
Bitcoin surpasses $40K
The cryptocurrency market continued to break records with the most-followed crypto asset bitcoin rising beyond the psychological mark of $40,000 for the first time in history. According to the data available with Binance, bitcoin has registered a lifetime high of $40,404.26 on 7 January.
Bitcoin, touted as the new gold, retreated partially in the morning deals but was still trading 3.55 per cent higher at $38,445.32 apiece on Friday.
