AUS
NZ
UK
CA
USA
IND
.png)
_06_19_2026_12_34_15_139937.jpg)
Summary
- FTSE100 trades in green above the 7000 mark, helped by the gain in the banking stock, Barclays Plc.
- UK’s housing price saw a marginal dip of 0.5% in July, as the stamp duty holiday ended for the homebuyers.
FTSE 100 was trading in a positive zone after starting the week in the negative terrain. The blue-chip index reclaimed the 7000 level boosted by the gains in the Barclays Plc stock, which was up by 4.2% after a positive result by the lender. The bank’s total income rose to £11,315 million, and it also announced £800 million of dividends and share buyback. Barclays is the first major bank to announce dividends for its shareholders after the Bank of England scrapped the payout restrictions on the banking sector.
Meanwhile, Mid-cap focused FTSE250 was up by 0.86% at the 23073 levels.
British housing prices fell marginally by 0.5% in July compared with June month, after the deadline for the stamp duty holiday for the homebuyers passed. The stamp duty savings for the homebuyers have been outstripped by the nationwide rise in housing prices, which are 10.5% higher than last year’s prices.
European Markets
Major European markets also trade in positive territory. German blue-chip DAX index was up by 0.19% at 15,548, while the CAC40, the benchmark index of France was at 6,581, up by 0.73%. European markets are trading in the green, helped by the strong earnings in the Deutsche Bank; the lender beat the profit expectations for the second quarter and raised its revenue guidance.
Currency Markets
The pound trades in the green, up by 0.04% at 1.3878 against the US dollar, while the EUR/ GBP currency pair traded at 0.8505, down by 0.05%. The outcome of the two-day meeting of the US Federal Reserve will be closely watched by the investors, which could decide the direction of the forex market.
Commodities
Brent crude oil contract trades at USD 73.80, up by 0.34%. Meanwhile, WTI crude oil in the August future traded at USD 71.98, up by 0.46%. Crude oil prices are again moving towards the USD 75 mark as investors anticipate a drop in the US crude oil inventories, which will be announced later in the day. The recent rise in the crude oil price is expected to carry on as investors anticipate tight crude oil supply to continue despite the production rise by the OPEC+ nation.
Asian Markets
Most of the Asia Pacific indexes finished the day in red, with Australia’s ASX200 closing at 7379, down by 0.70%. Nikkei 225 of Japan closed down by 1.39% at 27,581, while the Shanghai Composite of China was down by 0.58% at 3,361. India’s Nifty 50 closed at 15709, down by 0.24%. However, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index recovered after yesterday’s fall and ended up by 1.44% at 25,421.
