AUS
NZ
UK
CA
USA
IND
US Markets: Broader indices in the United States traded in green - particularly, the S&P 500 index traded 26.68 points or 0.68 per cent higher at 3,939.78, Dow Jones Industrial Average Index surged by 69.05 points or 0.21 per cent higher at 32,697.02, and the technology benchmark index Nasdaq Composite traded higher at 13,384.50, up by 169.26 points or 1.28 per cent against the previous day close (at the time of writing, before the US market close at 11:50 AM ET).
US Market News: The major indices of Wall Street traded in a green zone after witnessing a fall in the bond yields. Among the gaining stocks, Kansas City Southern shares jumped by about 12.51% after the Canadian Pacific Railway decided to purchase the transportation company for USD 25 billion. PepsiCo shares jumped by about 2.47% after Barclays had upgraded its investment stance to “overweight”. Blackstone shares went up by around 0.26% after it proposed a buyout of Australia’s Crown Resorts. Among the declining stocks, JetBlue Airways Corp shares went down by around 6.83%, after it announced the plans to raise USD 650 million.
US Stocks Performance*
UK Market News: The London markets traded in a green zone amid vaccine problems between the UK and the European Union. FTSE 100 traded higher by around 0.26% as good performance of AstraZeneca and Kingfisher partially offset the negative sentiments after Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned that Europe’s third Covid-19 wave could hit Britain. According to the leading market researcher, the number of people heading out to shops in Britain grew by 0.5% for the week ended on 20 March 2021 as compared to the prior week.
Travel & Leisure stocks like International Consolidated Airlines Group and Rolls-Royce Holdings shares slumped by around 5.10% and approximately 3.46%, respectively, amid ongoing fears of the third Covid-19 wave in Europe.
Covid-19 vaccine provider AstraZeneca said that a US trial of the Covid-19 vaccine showed that it is 79% effective at preventing symptomatic disease. Furthermore, it had shown a 100% efficacy in preventing severe disease and hospitalisation. Meanwhile, the shares went up by around 2.87%.
Gold Miner Centamin shares dropped by approximately 0.10% despite the fact it had reported an 82% increase in the pre-tax full-year profit driven by the higher price of gold partially offset the production decline.
FTSE 100 listed Kingfisher had resumed the dividend payments after reporting an increase in the annual profit and a solid start to the new fiscal year. Furthermore, the shares climbed by around 3.10%.
European Indices Performance (at the time of writing):
FTSE 100 Index One Year Performance (as on 22 March 2021)
1 Year FTSE 100 Chart (Source: EODHD/Others, Thomson Reuters)
Top 3 Volume Stocks in FTSE 100*: Lloyds Banking Group Plc (LLOY); Vodafone Group Plc (VOD); International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG).
Top 3 Sectors traded in green*: Healthcare (+2.06%), Consumer Non-Cyclicals (+1.01%) and Utilities (+0.42%).
Top 3 Sectors traded in red*: Real Estate (-1.19%), Basic Materials (-0.64%) and Energy (-0.56%).
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 $64.65/barrel and $61.56/barrel, respectively.
Gold Price*: Gold price was quoting at US$1,739.40 per ounce, down by 0.13% against the prior day closing.
Currency Rates*: GBP to USD: 1.3867; EUR to GBP: 0.8613.
Bond Yields*: US 10-Year Treasury yield: 1.686%; UK 10-Year Government Bond yield: 0.817%.
*At the time of writing
