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US Markets: Wall Street indices started on a positive note with the leading stock indicator Dow Industrials and broader market index S&P 500 hitting fresh all-time highs, respectively, in the week hours of trading. The earnings optimism has propelled a fresh buying with the investors looking forward to upcoming corporate results.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose as much as 0.49% to a fresh lifetime peak of 35,738.97, S&P 500 advanced 0.21% to record high of 4,559.67, while Nasdaq Composite slipped to an intraday low of 15,120.11, down 0.63% from the previous close of 15,215.70.
With the persistent advancement, Dow seemingly looks on track to hit the psychological figure of 36,000, anytime soon in the present quarter. The upbeat corporate report card for the July-September period, controlled number of cases, upcoming developments with regard to the offshore interest payments by Evergrande Group, inflationary pressure and the supply side hurdles are likely to dictate the American equities in the near term.
US Market News: With American Express reporting better-than-expected results, surpassing the earnings estimate, the shares of corporation emerged as the lead gainer among the 30-component pack of Dow Industrials. The stock of American Express rose as much as 4.74% to $185.89. Other major shares that provide positive points to the index include Goldman Sachs (up 1.56%), Walmart (up 1.41%), JPMorgan Chase (up 0.95%) and Nike (up 1.02%).
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On the other hand, shares of the heavyweight technology giant Intel crashed nearly 12% following the dismal sales growth in the third quarter of 2021 as the corporation grappled with shortage of semiconductor chips. Meanwhile, shares of Snap nosedived more than 23% after the social media corporation missed its revenue expectations.
UK Markets: UK shares fared relatively well with the benchmark FTSE 100 nearing its 52-week high. The market index registered an intraday high of 7,235.19, led by the market-wide buying in top 10 shares by market capitalisation.
FTSE 100 (1-year performance on 22 October)
Source: REFINITIV
The stock of AstraZeneca (up 1.71%) provided the biggest boost to the index, while the stock of London Stock Exchange Group (down 5.37%) contributed to the downside.
Other blue-chip gainers amid the index include shares of Unilever (up 1.11%), HSBC Holdings (up 0.30%), Diageo (up 1.30%), Royal Dutch Shell (up 0.35%), GlaxoSmithKline (up 0.89%) and Rio Tinto (up 1.76%).
Market Snapshot
Top 3 volume leaders: Lloyds Banking Group, Morrison Supermarkets, Barclays
Top 3 sectoral indices: Precious Metals, Industrial Chemicals, and Medicine and Biotech
Bottom 3 sectoral indices: Finance Services, Health Care and Related Services and Software and Computing
Crude oil prices: Brent crude up 0.22% at $84.80/barrel; US WTI crude up 0.23% at $82.69/barrel
Gold prices: An ounce of gold traded at $1,813.65, up 1.78%
Exchange rate: GBP vs USD - 1.3770, down 0.15% | GBP vs EUR - 1.1825, down 0.32%
Bond yields: US 10-Year Treasury yield - 1.650% | UK 10-Year Government Bond yield - 1.1540%
Global Markets @ 16:03 BST
