AUS
NZ
UK
CA
USA
FRA
GER
ESP
ITA
NLD
PRT
SWE
GRC
IND
POL
BRA
ZAF
RUS
CHN
UAE
Highlights
- FTSE 100 trades in the positive territory boosted by gains in the Sainsbury Plc stock, which was up by 15.4%.
- European markets are showing a mixed trend, while most of the Asian markets ended in green.
FTSE100 trades in the positive terrain on the first day of the new week, up by 0.29% at 7,108 in the mid-day trade. The top gainer amongst the blue-chip index was Sainsbury Plc which was up by 15.4% at GBX 340.20, on market rumors that the company could be next in line to receive a potential bid from private equity firms after Morrisons Plc’s recent buyout by the US-based private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R). In recent times, the UK-based supermarket chains have received a lot of interest from the private equity firms because of higher sales and growth numbers during the lockdown period.
Top five FTSE100 gainer
Sainsbury (J) plc (+15.37%), Burberry Group plc (+3.92%), Rolls Royce Holdings Plc (+3.29%), Glencore plc (+2.97%), Prudential plc (+2.68%).
Top five FTSE100 losers
BT Group plc (-3.86%), Pershing Square Holdings Ltd (-1.38%), SSE plc (-1.26%), Rentokil Initial Plc (-1.23%), Smith & Nephew plc (-1.17%).
European Markets
Major European market indexes are showing a mixed trends. The German blue-chip DAX index is up by 0.04% at 15,814, while the benchmark index of France, CAC 40, was at 6,680, down by 0.82%. As per the flash IHS Markit survey, business activity in the Eurozone grew strongly in August, with Markit composite PMI dropping marginally to 59.5 compared to 60.2 in July 2021. But it was well ahead of the 50 mark, which indicates the economy is showing growth.
Currency Markets
The pound traded higher against the dollar at 1.3692, up by 0.53%; the pound witnessed some short covering on the first day of the new trading week. The EUR/ GBP currency pair traded at 0.8575, down by 0.02%.
Commodities
WTI crude oil future contract traded at USD 64.86, up by 4.43%, while the Brent crude oil trades at USD 67.52, up by 4.34%. Crude oil prices saw some recovery after a seven-day losing streak with gains driven by weaker US-dollar. Both benchmark crude oil indexes saw a big decline last week as investors fear a rise in coronavirus cases across the globe could lead to lower fuel demand and re-introduction of travel restrictions.
Asian Markets
Major Asia Pacific indexes closed in the positive territory on the first trading day of the week after the decline of last week. Australia’s ASX200 closed at 7,489, up by 0.39%, Nikkei 225 of Japan closed at 27,494, up by 1.78%. China’s Shanghai Composite closed at 3,477, up by 1.45%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index closed at 25,109, up by 1.05%. India’s Nifty 50 closed at 16496, up by 0.28%.
