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US Markets: Broader indices in the United States traded in red - particularly, the S&P 500 index traded 37.50 points or 0.90 per cent lower at 4,125.78, Dow Jones Industrial Average Index dipped by 284.23 points or 0.83 per cent lower at 33,793.40, and the technology benchmark index Nasdaq Composite traded lower at 13,722.46, down by 192.30 points or 1.38 per cent against the previous day close (at the time of writing - 11:30 AM ET).
US Market News: The major indices of Wall Street traded in a red zone due to the weak investor sentiments regarding ongoing worries of the Covid-19 pandemic. Among the gaining stocks, IBM shares went up by approximately 3.62% after the Company had reported the highest quarterly sales growth in more than two years. Travelers Companies shares rose by about 0.40% after the Company had raised the dividend and announced a share buyback program of USD 5 billion. Among the declining stocks, United Airlines Holdings shares dropped by around 9.36% after the Company had reported a bigger-than-expected net loss during the first quarter. Nike shares went down by about 3.53% after Citigroup had downgraded its investment stance from “Buy” to “Neutral”.
US Stocks Performance*
UK Market News: The London markets traded in a red zone after the release of UK unemployment data. FTSE 100 traded lower by around 2.00% due to the weak performance of Tobacco shares following media reports that Biden administration could introduce new regulations for nicotine levels in the cigarette. Furthermore, Britain’s unemployment rate remained around 4.9% for the three months period from December 2020 to February 2021.
Tobacco shares such as British American Tobacco and Imperial Brands had dropped by around 8.25% and about 7.65%, respectively, and remained the biggest losers on the FTSE 100 index.
Cybersecurity software company Avast shares grew by about 2.99% after the Company had reported first-quarter revenue growth of around 10.5% to USD 237.1 million on an organic basis.
Shopping centre owner Hammerson had appointed a new chief financial officer and reported an encouraging footfall recovery after the partial easing of the Covid-19 restrictions. However, the shares went down by around 3.92%.
Rio Tinto shares dropped by about 1.10% after the Company had posted a drop in iron-ore and bauxite production during the first quarter of FY21. Moreover, the Pilbara iron-ore shipments had shown a 7% improvement during Q1 FY21.
European Indices Performance (at the time of writing):
FTSE 100 Index One Year Performance (as on 20 April 2021)
1 Year FTSE 100 Chart (Source: EODHD/Others, Thomson Reuters)
Top 3 Volume Stocks in FTSE 100*: Lloyds Banking Group Plc (LLOY); Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc (RR.); BP Plc (BP.).
Top 2 Sectors traded in green*: Real Estate (+0.39%) and Healthcare (+0.10%).
Top 3 Sectors traded in red*: Consumer Non-Cyclicals (-2.48%), Energy (-2.21%) and Financials (-1.77%).
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 $66.52/barrel and $62.61/barrel, respectively.
Gold Price*: Gold price was quoting at US$1,778.35 per ounce, up by 0.44% against the prior day closing.
Currency Rates*: GBP to USD: 1.3936; EUR to GBP: 0.8632.
Bond Yields*: US 10-Year Treasury yield: 1.5607%; UK 10-Year Government Bond yield: 0.7320%.
*At the time of writing
