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Summary
- FTSE 100 lacklustre after PHE reported an increase of 46% in Delta variant cases
- Further, the subdued start to the Wall Street dampened the sentiments
- The total Delta variant cases now stand at 161,981
UK shares were the victim of subdued start to the Wall Street after the unemployment rate in the United States jumped by 10 basis points indicating a higher number of jobless as compared to the pre-pandemic era.
The investors’ confidence was further shaken by the continuous rise in the coronavirus cases linked to the Delta variant, resulting in increased pressure on the National Health Service (NHS) and other healthcare facilities, at a time when the United Kingdom is preparing to reopen and relax the restrictions on a much larger scale.
The US job market has recovered sharply from the Covid blues as the unemployment rate has fallen consistently from the April peaks but the last three months have seen a surprising figure with the rate rising by 10 bps in April after it cooled down to 6% in March 2021 for the first time in 12 months.
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Amongst the major indices of Wall Street, the Dow Industrials traded little changed at 34,666.14, up 0.09% from the previous close of 34,633.53, the tech leader Nasdaq Composite surged 0.40% to 14,580.42, while the broader S&P 500 added 0.30% to 4,332.99.
Of late, the domestic equity market sentiments have been battered by the rapid emergence of Covid-19 cases associated with the Delta variant. According to the latest data released by the Public Health England (PHE), there has been a weekly rise of 46% or 50,824 cases in the total number of infections with the Delta variant to 161,981 in the UK.
The latest finding of the SARS-CoV-2 cases indicates that Delta variant currently accounts for nearly 95% of the total cases that are sequenced across the UK. There seems to be an acute pressure on the medical facilities as sudden rise will lead to an unforeseen spike in the hospital admissions, however, a proportionate rise in hospitasations has not been detected so far.
According to the data available with the London Stock Exchange, the FTSE 100 traded flat at 7,123.87, moderately down by 0.02% from the previous close of 7,125.16. The market participants have been closely watching the developments around the Covid activity in the nation.
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The upcoming macroeconomic data is likely to steer the London equities as we step into the second half of the year. The upcoming set of planned easements and collective relaxations from the third week of July are expected to support the national economy, while the healthcare authorities plan to immunise the maximum possible number of adults by the middle of the month.
