FTSE 100 offsets Monday's loss as Wall Street bounces back

US Markets: All the three major stock averages of the United States bounced back sharply on Tuesday, 21 December, partly reversing yesterday’s plunge as investors continue to buy the dips, at a time when the healthcare authorities, the potential vaccine makers and the market participants continue to gauge the prospective damage due to the sharp resurgence of cases linked to the Omicron variant and the aftereffect of pandemic restrictions in many parts of the world.

Dow Industrials, the tech heavy Nasdaq Composite and wider share indicator S&P 500 gained over 1% each, snapping the three-day losses.

However, the current account deficit widening to $214.8 billion in the July-September period of 2021 partly increased the anxiousness of investors as the shortfall exceeded the street estimates. This translates into 3.7% of the national economic output. According to the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, this has been the largest mismatch in the current account since the third quarter of 2006. The current account deficit in the April-June period stood at $198.3 billion.

Investors are now eyeing the upcoming macroeconomic updates that can help them in ascertaining the prospective business environment in the terminal months of the present calendar year. Even as the leading stock indicators recoup losses, the markets are less likely to breach the record highs in the remainder of 2021 as the Omicron-led jittery continues to spoil the apparent optimism.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 388.84 points, or 1.11% to 35,321.00, the technology leader Nasdaq Composite gained 109.28 points, or 0.73% to 15,090.23, whereas the broader share benchmark S&P 500 added 36.33 points, or 0.80% to 4,604.35.

US Market News: Both Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 erased some of the gains after the shares of Moderna collapsed more than 6%. Including today’s decline, the stock of Moderna stands with a two-day loss of more than 12%.

Amid the heavyweight components of Dow Industrials, shares of Nike jumped the most after the sneaker manufacturer reported higher-than-anticipated earnings in the quarter ended 30 September 2021. The stock of Nike advanced as much as 9% to an intraday bottom of $171.19 from the previous closing price of $156.98 apiece.

The upsurge of Dow Jones was supported by shares of Boeing, American Express, Dow, Visa, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Travelers Companies, Intel, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Walt Disney, Caterpillar, Chevron and McDonald’s as these stocks rose 1-3%. Merch & Co and J&J were the only two shares that traded in the negative territory amid the blue-chip constituents of the index.

Shares of the Idaho-headquartered chipmaker Micron Technology emerged as the lead gainers among the 100 components of Nasdaq Composite after the corporation provided a bullish guidance. The stock of Micron Technology jumped a little more than 10% to an intraday peak of $90.25 from the previous market price of $82.03. 

UK Markets: London equities staged a sharp comeback on Tuesday, completely counterbalancing Monday’s losses with the benchmark FTSE 100 gaining more than 1%, nearing the level of 7,300. Shares of JD Sports Fashion gained nearly 5%, while the stock of Ocado Group lost 2% in the trade today, emerging as the biggest gainers and and losers, respectively.

A market-wide support from almost all the heavyweight components steered a meaningful uptick in the domestic benchmark index as shares of the market capitalisation leader AstraZeneca, HSBC Holdings, Diageo, GlaxoSmithKline, Royal Dutch Shell, BP, British American Tobacco, Rio Tinto and Glencore surged 0.50% to 3.40%, while the stock of Unilever dropped 1%.

The FTSE 100 gained 83.62 points, or 1.16% higher at 7,281.65 on Tuesday. Interestingly, the mid-cap barometer FTSE 250 advanced in a largely similar fashion as the index rose 251.02 points, or 1.11% to 22,801.25.

FTSE 100 (21 December)

Source: REFINITIV

Market Snapshot

Top 3 volume leaders:, Vodafone Group, Lloyds Banking Group, and HSBC Holdings

Top 3 sectoral indices: Consumer Services, Automotive, and Fossil Fuels

Bottom 3 sectoral indices: Personal Care, Real Estate Services, and Industrial Transportation

Crude oil prices: Brent crude up 2.25% at $73.13/barrel; US WTI crude up 2.58% at $70.38/barrel

Gold prices: An ounce of gold traded at $1,786.65, down 0.44%

Exchange rate: GBP vs USD - 1.3246, up 0.30% | GBP vs EUR - 1.1743, up 0.29%

Bond yields: US 10-Year Treasury yield - 1.475% | UK 10-Year Government Bond yield - 0.8740%

Markets @ 15:46 GMT

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