AUS
NZ
UK
CA
USA
IND
UK stock markets slipped from the day’s high in the wee hours of trading on Tuesday, 19 January, with the benchmark FTSE 100 hovering in the positive territory led by gains in several blue-chip shares. The index started the day on a higher note after the lackluster trading on Monday. The Great Britain pound (GBP) gaining marginally against the US dollar (USD) at the interbank foreign exchange market furthered the support to the London equities.
Blue chips steer gains
Heavyweight shares and constituents of the leading pack including HSBC Holdings Plc (LON: HSBA), Rio Tinto Plc (LON: RIO), AstraZeneca Plc (LON: AZN), GlaxoSmithKline Plc (LON: GSK), and Diageo Plc (LON: DGE) provided considerable positive points to the index at the opening.
The stocks of London-based metal and mining corporation Rio Tinto pared gains in the opening hour after rising as much as 1.82 per cent to an intraday high of GBX 6,083 from the previous close of GBX 5,974. The company has reported a strong performance in iron ore despite the repeated disturbances due to pandemic-led shutdowns and the impact of Cyclone Damien observed in Q1 2020.
Shares of HSBC Holdings largely held the morning gains after jumping by more than 2 per cent. On Monday, the bank said it has appointed Henri de Castries, the former chairman and CEO of Paris-headquartered insurance major AXA, as a non-executive director on the board. The stock of HSBC registered a massive gain of 3.88 per cent hitting a day’s peak at GBX 418.65 from the previous closing of GBX 403.
The headline index washed off partial gains as the trading progressed. Around 09:21 GMT, the FTSE 100 was trading at 6,734.76, up 14.11 points, or 0.21 per cent from the previous close of 6,720.65.
FTSE 100 (19 Jan)
(Source: EODHD/Others, Thomson Reuters)
The wider share indicators depicted a largely similar rise with FTSE 250, FTSE 350 and FTSE All-Share hovering in the positive zone with a gain of not more than 0.30 per cent.
A positive opening on Wall Street is likely to assist the domestic gains as the Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is scheduled to detail the massive $1.9-trillion stimulus package. Around 09:39 GMT, Dow Jones 30 Futures were trading 0.42 per cent higher at 30,848, indicating a positive start for Dow Industrials later in the day.
GBP recoups slightly
The GBP vs USD pair recovered slightly on Tuesday as the greenback failed to hold yesterday’s gain. The currency pair was trading at 1.3605, up 0.15 per cent from the previous close of 1.3584. The Bank of England had fixed a reference currency conversion rate of US $1.3585 and 1.1234 EUR against a unit of pound sterling on Monday, 15 January.
During the day so far, the GBP to USD pair has shuttled between a low and high of 1.3575 and 1.3615, respectively. The subdued weakness of the dollar has supported the pound for an extended period, however, any announcement of restrictions to contain Covid-19 spread may hurt the sentiments of the domestic currency.
Gold rises for third day
Gold continued its sparkle in the financial markets with the yellow metal extending the gains for the third consecutive day. An ounce of gold was trading at $1,843.84, up 0.37 per cent from the previous close of $1,837.10. Energy market saw a reversal on Tuesday. A barrel of Brent crude oil was trading 0.86 per cent higher at $55.22, while WTI crude oil was trading 0.08 per cent higher at $52.46 per barrel.
