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UK stock markets traded flat on Thursday, 18 February, tracking the downbeat market sentiments across the globe with Japan’s Nikkei settling in a negative region and futures linked to the Dow Industrials hovering in red. As far as the mood of domestic market participants is concerned, most of the investors are awaiting cues about the exit plan from the national lockdown and the announcements in the upcoming Budget.
Equities stay range bound
The benchmark FTSE extended the losses on Wednesday, after registering a gain of more than 5 per cent in the first 15 days of February. The UK government, running in line with the target to inoculate the maximum number of adults in the first four cohorts, has provided a considerable boost, but the lower inflation growth coupled with the mixed bag of corporate earnings have once again developed a mood of uncertainty.
Around 0907 GMT, the headline FTSE 100 index was trading at 6,713.84, up 0.04 per cent from the previous close of 6,710.90. Barring the wider share barometer FTSE 250, which rose more than 0.30 per cent, all the other major indices including FTSE 350 and FTSE All-Share were trading largely unchanged. During the day so far, the FTSE 100 has oscillated between a high and low of 6,721.76 and 6,683.59, respectively.
GBP recoups 1.39
The Great Britain pound (GBP) managed to regain a level above 1.39 against the United States dollar (USD) on Thursday in the morning deals as the greenback continued to struggle against a basket of currencies. Around 0927 GMT, the GBP vs USD currency pair was trading at 1.3918, up 0.47 per cent from the previous close of 1.3853.
In the intraday session so far, the pair has shuttled between a low and a high of 1.3840 and 1.3922, respectively, at the interbank foreign exchange market. The Bank of England had fixed a reference exchange rate of 1.3926 USD and 1.1492 EUR against a unit of pound sterling on 16 February.
Macro data ahead
The macro data including the Gfk Consumer Confidence, retail sales scheduled to be released on Friday, 19 February, has been weighing on the London equities. The concern around macroeconomic figures can be short lived, but such fine data prints are likely to assist the investors in setting up the trade for the near future.
Infections fall
Meanwhile, the interim findings from the Imperial College London and Ipsos MORI have shown a fall in the rate of infections, as well as the cumulative number of Covid-19 cases. A gradual downtick in the coronavirus cases and the related number of hospital admissions can be momentous as the country prepares to exit the nationwide lockdown.
With the staff returning to offices as the businesses reopen after over a month-long stretch, the first quarter of the current year is likely to have a diverse impact on multiple enterprises of varied nature, sizes, and scale. However, most of the corporations are still drifting away from providing meaningful guidance for several upcoming quarters citing the elongated uncertainty on the back of Covid-induced disruption.
