FTSE AIM Index Expanded by 0.58%; Shares of Aptitude Software Group Soared by 11.11%

US Markets: Broader indices in the United States traded in green - particularly, the S&P 500 index traded 17.55 points or 0.47 per cent higher at 3,785.80, Dow Jones Industrial Average Index expanded by 93.24 points or 0.30 per cent higher at 30,907.50, and the technology benchmark index Nasdaq Composite traded higher at 13,091.98, up by 93.48 points or 0.72 per cent against the previous day close (at the time of writing, before the US market close at 10:30 AM ET).

US Market News: The major indices of Wall Street traded in the green due to positive investor sentiments regarding stimulus message from Janet Yellen. Among the gaining stocks, Coherent shares went up by 34.24% after it had received a lucrative bid from Lumentum Holdings. General Electric shares gained about 1.28% after it had proposed to freeze pension benefits. Shares of Halliburton went up by 0.12% after the quarterly revenue came ahead of its forecast. Among the declining stocks, shares of Lumentum Holdings slipped by around 10.57% after it had decided to acquire Coherent for USD 5.7 billion. Shares of Goldman Sachs Group went down by 1.67% although it had reported fourth-quarter earnings more than the consensus estimates.

US Stocks Performance*

European News: The London and European markets traded in the mixed territory reflecting weak investor confidence due to ongoing worries regarding Covid-19 pandemic. The Office for National Statistics had reported a growth of around 4.0% in labour productivity for the third quarter of 2020 compared to an equivalent period of 2019. Among the gaining stocks, Kier Group shares went up by 10.65% after it said trading during the first half remained better than expectations. Shares of Rolls-Royce Holdings went up by 1.15% riding on the news that several reputed PE firms were amongst the bidders for its ITP Aero business. Experian shares grew by 0.63% after it had reported third-quarter performance better than expectations.  Among the decliners, Superdry shares dropped by 14.28% after it had warned of higher interim losses due to Covid-19 crisis. Shares of AO World went down by 4.64% although it had posted a growth of 67% in UK third-quarter revenues. Shares of Entain had dropped the most on FTSE 100.  

European Indices Performance (at the time of writing):

FTSE 100 Index One Year Performance (as on 19 January 2021)

        1 Year FTSE 100 Chart (Source: Refinitiv, Thomson Reuters)

Top 3 Volume Stocks in FTSE 100*: Lloyds Banking Group Plc (LLOY); Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc (RR.); Barclays Plc (BARC).

Top 3 Sectors traded in green*: Healthcare (+0.65%), Consumer Non-Cyclicals (+0.27%) and Utilities (+0.22%).

Top 3 Sectors traded in red*: Consumer Cyclicals (-1.42%), Real Estate (-0.95%) and Basic Materials (-0.68%).

London Stock Exchange: Stocks Performance (at the time of writing)

Crude Oil Future Prices*: Brent future crude oil (future) price and WTI crude oil (future) price were hovering at $55.92/barrel and $53.02/barrel, respectively.

Gold Price*: Gold price was quoting at US$1,841.25 per ounce, up by 0.62% against the prior day closing.

Currency Rates*: GBP to USD: 1.3625; EUR to GBP: 0.8895.

Bond Yields*: US 10-Year Treasury yield: 1.102%; UK 10-Year Government Bond yield: 0.291%.

*At the time of writing