AUS
NZ
UK
CA
USA
IND
Highlights
- FTSE100 has bounced back on from Monday’s sharp fall, led by the record number of Job vacancies and fall in unemployment rate.
- JPMorgan Chase expects the Bank of England to hike rates as soon as mid of 2022.
FTSE 100 trades in the green after the UK reported record rise in the Job vacancies and decline in unemployment rate in the second quarter. The unemployment rate declined to 4.7% compared to a rate of 4.8% in the first quarter of this year, according to official data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Also, the number of job vacancies was at record high and surpassing a one million vacancies mark in July month.
After the strong labor market report, JPMorgan Chase changed its forecast of interest rate hike in the UK market. The bank expects that the Bank of England could go for interest rates hike by the middle of next year, which is a revised forecast from the previous expectation of rate hike in November 2022.
Top five FTSE100 gainers
BHP Group Plc (4.69%), Just Eat Takeaway.com (2.79%), Royal Dutch Shell Plc (2.26%), BP Plc (2%), Rentokil Initial Plc (2.07%).
Top five FTSE100 losers
Kingfisher Plc (-2.88%), International Consolidated Group (IAG) (-2.32%), Whitbread Plc (-2.16%), Antofagasta Plc (-1.93%), Intercontinental Hotels Group Plc (-1.8%).
European Markets
Major European market indexes are trading in red. The German blue-chip DAX index is down by 0.21% at 15,892, while the benchmark index of France, CAC 40, was at 6,807, down by 0.46%. Markets in the European region are trading lower tracking the Asian markets, where major indexes closed the day in the negative zone.
Currency Markets
The pound continues to trade lower against the dollar for the second successive session, the dollar edged higher against the major currencies after investors remained worried that the recent rise in the delta variant cases globally could derail the global economic recovery, which benefitted the traditional safe haven currency.
Commodities
WTI crude oil future contract traded at USD 66.83, down by 0.33%, while the Brent Crude oil trades at USD 69.47, down by 0.09%. Crude oil prices are down for the fourth successive session as investors are concerned of weaker demand for the fuel from the Asian markets due to the recent decline in the China’s key economic data. Also, Japan has extended restrictions in the Tokyo and other region due to rise in coronavirus cases.
Meanwhile, the Gold futures contract was trading in the red, down by 0.36% at USD 1783 per ounce.
Asian Markets
Major Asia Pacific indexes closed in red. China’s Shanghai Composite closed at 3,446 down by 2% after the Chinese regulators issued new set of regulations for the technology companies, which bans the unfair competition and protects user data. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index also closed down by 1.66% at 25,745. Australia’s ASX200 closed at 7,511, down by 0.94%, while the Nikkei 225 of Japan closed at 27,424 down by 0.36%. On the other hand, India’s Nifty 50 continued to rally for the second day in a row closing at 16,614, up by 0.31%.
