How the Global Markets Performed in Thursday’s Trading Session?

US Markets: Broader indices in the United States traded in red - particularly, the S&P 500 index traded 23.35 points or 0.79 per cent lower at 2,916.16, Dow Jones Industrial Average Index contracted by 251.69 points or 1.02 per cent lower at 24,382.17, and the technology benchmark index Nasdaq Composite traded lower at 8,901.34, down by 13.37 points or 0.15 per cent against its previous day close (at the time of writing, before the U.S market close at 11:25 AM ET).

US News: The Wall Street broke the six days rally and opened lower on Thursday as another 3.5 million Americans filed for jobless claims, bringing the total to around 30 million over the past six weeks. Meanwhile, the Fed Chairman Jerome Powell warned about the likelihood of the worst economic data ever in the second quarter of 2020. Among the stocks, Comcast surged over 6 per cent after reporting an incline in the number of customers. Similarly, Facebook soared over 4.69 per cent post reporting a sign of stability in its advertising revenue. Among laggards, Chesapeake Energy tumbled over 29 per cent as it is approaching towards bankruptcy filings. American Airlines fell around 3.85 per cent after reporting a net loss of USD 2.2 billion. McDonald’s dipped around 1.93 per cent after missing the first-quarter earnings forecast. Likewise, Tapestry plunged over 8 per cent post reporting a third-quarter loss.

S&P 500 (SPX)

Top Performers*: ABIOMED, Nielsen, and Facebook shares increased by 11.80 per cent, 5.30 per cent and 5.04 per cent, respectively.

Non Performers*: Molson Coors, Tapestry and Fox Corp A shares decreased by 10.89 per cent, 9.15 per cent and 7.96 per cent, respectively.

NASDAQ Composite (IXIC)

Top Performers*: Cesca Therapeutics Inc, Exela Tech and Midatech Pharmaceuticals shares expanded by 76.28 per cent, 60.44 per cent and 34.18 per cent, respectively.

Worst Performers*: Taronis Tech, Verona Pharmaceuticals and Zovio shares plunged by 23.33 per cent, 22.64 per cent and 18.54 per cent, respectively.

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI)

Top Performers*: Boeing, UnitedHealth and Apple are the top gainers and increased by 2.68 per cent, 1.40 per cent and 1.36 per cent, respectively.

Non Performers*: Raytheon Tech, Travelers and Caterpillar shares decreased by 3.15 per cent, 3.05 per cent and 2.90 per cent, respectively.

European Markets: The London’s broader equity benchmark index FTSE 100 traded at 214.04 points or 3.50 per cent lower at 5,901.21, the FTSE 250 index snapped at 380.88 points or 2.26 per cent lower at 16,454.46, and the FTSE All-Share Index ended 108.75 points or 3.23 per cent lower at 3,262.51, respectively. Another European index STOXX 600 ended lower by 7.03 points or 2.03 per cent, at 340.03. Among other major European indices, DAX index closed the session at 10,861.64, down by 246.10 points or 2.22 per cent; CAC 40 index decreased by 98.93 points or 2.12 per cent and ended the trading session at 4,572.18.

European News: London and European markets tumbled today as the Eurostat stated that the eurozone economy has contracted by 3.8 per cent in the first three months of 2020 as compared to the previous quarter. Also, the ONS survey reported that two-thirds of companies have applied for job retention scheme. Adjacently, as per the UK Finance, the Government-backed bank lending surged to GBP 4.1 billion, for small and medium-sized British businesses. Among the stocks, Reckitt Benckiser rose over 4 per cent, with strong first-quarter sales. Royal Dutch Shell plunged over 10 per cent post slashing its dividend. Safran climbed over 5 per cent post stating the potential of maintaining positive cash flow for the full year despite prevailing headwinds. Airbus rose over 6 per cent as it is discussing a potential aid with the French state.

London Stock Exchange

Top Performers*: ASA INTERNATIONAL GROUP PLC (ASAI), INTERNATIONAL PERSONAL FINANCE PLC (IPF) and AMIGO HOLDINGS PLC (AMGO) are top movers and rose by 71.78 per cent, 20.60 per cent and 12.98 per cent, respectively.

Worst Performers*: HARGREAVES LANSDOWN PLC (HL.), ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC 'B' (RDSB) and VIRGIN MONEY UK PLC (VMUK) plunged by 12.34 per cent, 12.09 per cent and 11.87 per cent, respectively.

FTSE 100 Index Performance

3 months FTSE 100 Index Performance (April-30-2020), before the market closed (Source: Refinitiv, Thomson Reuters)

Best Gainers*: FLUTTER ENTERTAINMENT PLC (FLTR), HIKMA PHARMACEUTICALS PLC (HIK) and ASTRAZENECA PLC (AZN) expanded by 4.19 per cent, 3.60 per cent and 3.18 per cent, respectively.

Non Performers*: HARGREAVES LANSDOWN PLC (HL.), ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC 'B' (RDSB) and ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC 'A' (RDSA) plunged by 11.67 per cent, 11.40 per cent and 10.62 per cent, respectively.

Top Shares traded with high-level volume*: (LLOY) LLOYDS BANKING GROUP PLC; (BARC) BARCLAYS PLC; (VOD) VODAFONE GROUP PLC.

Oil Prices*: WTI crude oil future price was nudging at $17.29 per barrel, and Brent crude oil future price was trading at $25.08 per barrel.

Forex Rates*: GBP to USD and EUR to GBP were hovering at 1.2594 and 0.8695, respectively.

Bond Yields*: U.S 10-Year Treasuries yield was tilting at 0.597 per cent, and the UK 10-Year Government Bond yield was hovering at 0.221 per cent, respectively.

*At the time of writing