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- FTSE 100 trades in positive zone supported by the gain in the Anglo American Plc, which is the top gainer of the day.
- Crude oil trades near the USD 75 mark after the US reported the lowest inventory levels since January 2020.
FTSE 100 trades in the green zone on Thursday mid-morning session, up by 0.89% at 7,079. The top gainer amongst the blue-chip index was Anglo American Plc, whose share was up by over 5% after the company announced that it plans to return USD 2 billion to its shareholders in the form share buyback program of USD 1 billion and a special dividend of USD 0.80 per ordinary share, equal to USD 1 billion.
Meanwhile, mortgage lending in the UK rose to £17.9 billion in June (May lending: £6.79 billion). British mortgage lending rose to a record level in June month as homebuyer’s rush to take advantage of the stamp duty holiday. However, the British lenders approved 81,300 mortgages, which was a slight decline as compared to 86,900 approvals in May 2021, as per the data published by the Bank of England.
European Markets
Major European markets indexes are trading in the positive territory. German blue-chip DAX index is up by 0.48% at 15,644, while the CAC 40, benchmark index of France was at 6,664, up by 0.83%.
Currency Markets
The pound continues to trade in the green, up by 0.42% at 1.3958 against the US dollar. The US dollar is trading weak against the major European currency, falling to a two-week low after the US central bank kept the interest rate unchanged at the conclusion of a two-day meeting on Wednesday. Investors anticipate that the US interest rate hike will take much longer than the market expectations after Chairman Jerome Powell commented that the US job market still has some ground to cover before the central bank members agree to put a brake on its monthly bond purchase.
Commodities
Brent crude oil contract trades at USD 74.19, up by 0.43%. Meanwhile, WTI crude oil in the August future traded at USD 72.64, up by 0.35%. The crude oil inventory in the United States, the world’s top oil consumer, fell by 4.1 million barrels, the lowest inventory levels since January 2020, which pushed the crude oil prices above USD 75 in yesterday’s trading session. The decline in the US crude inventory is because of the lower imports and a decline in weekly production.
Asian Markets
Major Asia Pacific indexes finished the day in the green zone, Australia’s ASX200 closed at 7,417, up by 0.52%. Nikkei 225 of Japan closed in green, up by 0.73% at 27,782, while the Shanghai Composite of China closed higher by 1.49% at 3411. India’s Nifty 50 closed at 15,788, up by 0.44%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index recovered after starting the week red, up by 3.24% at 25243.
