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Summary
- FTSE100 is trading at the highest level since February 2020 in the early deals on Tuesday
- Heathrow Airport reported the highest passenger traffic in July 2020, which is the busiest month since March 2020.
FTSE 100 is up by 32 points at 7,193 in the mid-morning trades. The blue-chip index has reached the same level as it was in February 2020, before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. The top gainer amongst the FTSE 100 stock was Spirax-Sarco Engineering Plc, up by over 2.5% after it announced a 17% rise in organic revenue and a 37% rise in adjusted operating profits during the six months ended 30 June 2021.
Heathrow Airport, the busiest airport in Europe, reported that over 1.5 million passengers were handled in July, which has been the busiest month since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. However, the overall passenger traffic is still down by 80% compared to pre-pandemic levels. Nevertheless, the news lifted the airlines stock in the early trade, with British Airways owner IAG Group moving up by over 2.5% and EasyJet Plc gaining 0.66%.
European Markets
Major European market indexes are trading in green. German blue-chip DAX index is up by 0.09% at 15,785, while the CAC 40 benchmark index of France was at 6,841, up by 0.31%. According to the market rumours, French retail chain operator Carrefour SA is planning to sell its Taiwan business, Wellcome Taiwan, which is valued at around 1.6 billion euros. The company has approached potential buyers, including the private equity firm.
Currency Markets
The pound trades in red against the dollar, down by 0.24% at 1.3811; the dollar has been trading stronger against major world currencies after last week’s stronger US jobs data, which could boost the investors’ expectations that the Federal Reserve may slow down its asset-buying program and increase interest rates sooner than the market anticipations. The EUR/ GBP currency pair traded at 0.8480, up by 0.22%.
Commodities
Brent crude oil October futures, though trades above the USD 70 mark at USD 70.14, was down by 0.69%, while the WTI crude oil contract trades at USD 67.75, up by 0.79%. Crude oil prices bounced back from below the USD 70 mark after the US Energy Information Administration said increasing vehicle movement after lockdown and growth in US job data boosted the gasoline consumption in the US.
Gold August futures contract trades in the positive zone, up by 0.39% at USD 1738 per ounce.
Asian Markets
Major Asia Pacific indexes closed in green. Australia’s ASX200 closed at 7,584, up by 0.29%, while China’s Shanghai Composite closed up by 0.08% at 3,532. India’s Nifty 50 closed at 16,282, a tad higher by 0.01%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index closed in green, up by 0.20% at 26,660. Nikkei 225 of Japan closed up by 0.65% at 28,070.
