Global Markets: Shares in the United States were plunging in red, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index declined 174.85 points or 0.66% in day’s session and quoting at 26,408.57, the S&P 500 index slumped 20.80 points or 0.69% and trading at 2,931.06 and the technology benchmark index Nasdaq Composite fell off 108.85 points or 1.31% and quoting at 8005.08 respectively, at the time of writing.
Global News: US job growth slowed in July and manufacturers reduced hours for workers, as nonfarm payrolls rose by 164,000 and unemployment rate remained steady at 3.7 per cent, giving the US central bank room to cut rate. With effect from 1 September, the US would impose 10 per cent tariffs on $300 billion of Chinese imports, escalating the trade war and roiling financial markets. Tepid job growth and US-China trade tensions resulted in main indices declining to one-month lows on Friday, and Treasury yields trimmed their earlier decline.
European Markets: The London’s broader equity benchmark index FTSE 100 traded at 177.81 points or 2.34% lower at 7,407.06, the FTSE 250 index snapped 381.14 points or 1.94% lower at 19,253.17, and the FTSE All-Share Index ended 92.70 points or 2.24% lower at 4,039.53 respectively. Another European equity benchmark index STOXX 600 ended at 378.15, down by 9.53 points or 2.46 per cent.
European News: Taking the working majority of the current government to just one, the ruling Conservative Party lost the parliamentary seat to pro-European Union Liberal Democrats, further complicating the Brexit maths as only a few rebels Conservative Party can swing votes in the parliament. The IHS Markit/CIPS construction Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) increased to 45.3, lower than predictions by analysts and below the 50-mark that separates growth from contraction for the third month in a row in July. As the British government bond yields tracked the broader drop in global bond after an escalation in US-China trade war, the 10-year benchmark bond yield fell almost six bps to its lowest level since August 2016.
London Stock Exchange (LSE)
Top Performers Stocks: TCG (THOMAS COOK GROUP PLC), PDG (PENDRAGON PLC), and IAG (INTL CONSOLIDATED AIRLINES GROUP SA) rose by 30.18 per cent, 11.67 per cent and 8.39 per cent respectively.
Top Laggards Stocks: JUST (JUST GROUP PLC), HTG (HUNTING PLC), and KAZ (KAZ MINERALS PLC) reduced by 10.97 per cent, 8.37 per cent and 6.90 per cent respectively.
FTSE 100 Index
FTSE100 Index Chart: 5-days Price Performance (as on August-02-2019), after the market closed. (Source: Thomson Reuters)
Top Risers Stocks: IAG (INTL CONSOLIDATED AIRLINES GROUP SA), FRES (FRESNILLO PLC) and FLTR (FLUTTER ENTERTAINMENT PLC), and rose by 8.39 per cent, 0.86 per cent and 0.74 per cent respectively
Top Fallers Stocks: RBS (ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND GROUP PLC), ANTO (ANTOFAGASTA PLC), and MRO (MELROSE INDUSTRIES PLC) reduced by 6.54 per cent, 6.25 per cent and 6.17 per cent respectively.
Top Three Active Volume Stocks: LLOYDS BANKING GROUP PLC, BARCLAYS PLC, and VODAFONE GROUP PLC.
Top Fallers Sectors: Basic Materials (-3.95%), Financials (-3.26%), and Consumer Cyclicals (-2.71%).
Foreign Exchange and Fixed Income
FX Rates*: GBP/USD and EUR/GBP were trading at 1.2159 and 0.9138 respectively.
10-Year Bond Yields*: US 10Y Treasury and UK 10Y Bond yields were exchanging at 1.855% and 0.554% respectively.
*At the time of writing
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