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Highlights
- FTSE 100 bounced back from last session’s fall, trading up by over a per cent in Thursday afternoon trades.
- European markets were trading in green following the positive announcement by Russia that it plans to stabilise the natural gas prices by boosting gas supply to Europe.
FTSE 100 bounced back on Thursday from the last session’s fall, trading up by 1.02% at 7,067, as the decline in the global energy prices reduced some worries around the energy crisis and inflation in the country. Meanwhile, the mid-cap focused FTSE250 index was at 22,397, modestly up by 0.07% at 13:50 GMT+1.
Top five FTSE 100 gainers
Antofagasta plc (5.42%), Anglo American (5.42%), Standard Chartered plc (5.11%), Rio Tinto plc (3.95%), BHP Group Plc (3.43%)
Top five FTSE 100 losers
Hargreaves Lansdown plc (-1.70%), Kingfisher (-1.67%), B&M European Value Retail (-1.50%), Admiral Group (-1.25%), Next plc (-1.20%),
European Markets
Major European market indexes are also trading in the positive territory. The German blue-chip DAX index is up by 1.38% at 15,179, while the benchmark index of France, CAC 40, was at 6,591, up by 1.51%. European markets are trading higher following the positive announcement by Russia that it plans to stabilise the natural gas prices by boosting gas supply to Europe. Additional gas supply could be beneficial in addressing the current energy crisis in the European countries.
Currency Markets
The pound trades higher against the dollar at 1.3606, up by 0.19%, while EUR/ GBP currency pair traded at 0.8497, down by 0.15%. The pound has witnessed volatile movement in recent times, following concern around multiple issues in the UK like the slowdown in economic growth, energy crisis and rising inflation. In the medium term, the market anticipates that the Bank of England (BoE) might go for a rate hike to curb inflation, which would be positive for the Sterling.
Commodities
WTI crude oil future contract traded at USD 76.94, down by 0.63%, while the Brent crude oil traded at USD 80.78, down by 0.37%. Crude oil prices continued to trade downward for the second consecutive day after the US Energy Department announced that it is considering selling oil from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), which could ease the global crude oil prices. As per market experts, the US could release additional 60 million barrels of crude oil supply, which might lead to a correction in crude oil prices because of increases in supply.
Meanwhile, the gold futures contract traded in the red, down by 0.40% at USD 1,754 per ounce.
Asian Markets
Major Asia Pacific indexes closed in the green. Australia’s ASX200 closed at 7,256, up by 0.70%, while India’s Nifty 50 closed at 17,790 up by 0.82%. Nikkei 225 of Japan was up by 0.54% at 27,678, while the Hang Seng index closed at 24,701, up by 3.07%. China’s stock market remains closed on account of national holidays.
