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Summary
- FTSE 100 trades in the negative zone after a fresh set of travel restrictions on France travellers.
- Travellers from France have to self-isolate upon arrival in the UK as precautions against Beta variant cases.
FTSE 100 started the new week with negative sentiments and went below the 7000 mark for the first time since mid-April. The index fall was led by travel and airlines stocks, like IAG Group, which owns British Airlines (down by 4.3%) after the UK imposed fresh restrictions on travellers from France. Mid-cap focused FTSE 250 index was also down by 1.8% at 22,063.
Travellers from France have to self-isolate due to the rise in Beta variant cases in the country. Some reports claim that the current vaccines are less effective against the Beta variant, which adds to the UK government concerns that is still dealing with Delta variant cases. The UK reported over 54,000 daily cases as it eased some of the restrictions on 19 July.
European Markets
Major European markets index trades in red, with the German blue-chip DAX index down by 1.80% at 15260 and the French index CAC40 at 6342, down by 1.83%. The governing council of the European Central Bank is set to meet on 22 July on monetary policy.
Currency Markets
The pound was down by 0.22% at 1.3739 against the US dollar, which is a three-month low for the pound against the dollar amid the rise in Covid-19 cases, while the EUR/ GBP currency pair traded at 0.8577, up by 0.11%.
Commodities
Brent crude oil contract trades at USD 71.78, down by 2.46%. Meanwhile, WTI Crude oil August future traded at USD 69.58, down by 2.79% after OPEC+ nations reached an agreement over the weekend to boost crude oil production from August to cool down prices, which has reached the highest levels due to economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Precious metal, Gold August futures contract is down by 0.66% at USD 1803 per ounce.
Cryptocurrency
Major cryptocurrency traded downward today, with Bitcoin down by 7% at USD 31285 as the cryptocurrency registered the lowest weekly close of the year, while the Ethereum traded at USD 1868, down by 11.5%.
Asian Markets
Major Asia Pacific indices closed the day in red, with Australia’s ASX200 down by 0.85% at 7286. Nikkei 225 of Japan also closed in red, down by 1.25% at 27652, while India’s Nifty 50 closed at 15752, down by 1.07%. Shanghai Composite of China closed almost flat, down by 0.01% at 3539, however, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up by 2.23% at 27456.
