London’s Equity Benchmark FTSE 100 Index Traded Lower On Monday Against Its Previous Close

Stocks on London Stock Exchange ended lower on February 18, 2019, with an impact from bleak dollar movement in terms of the trade scenario, and thus, the broader equity benchmark FTSE 100 index traded 17.21 points lower against its previous close. Primarily, FTSE 100 index ended Monday’s session at 7,219.4, down 0.24 per cent from its Friday’s close. Broader European equity benchmark STOXX 600 ended the session at 369.78, up 0.23 per cent from its previous close. [optin-monster-shortcode id="wxhmli4jjedneglg1trq"]

At corporate news front, Standard Chartered announced that Carlson Tong is to be appointed as an Independent Non-Executive Director with effect from 21^st February 2019. Consumer company, Reckitt Benckiser Plc reported its FY18 results on 18^th February 2019, wherein its revenue grew significantly to GBP 12.6 billion in FY18, compared to the revenue of GBP 11.5 bn in FY17. On 18^th Feb, Coca-Cola HBC announced the acquisition of Serbia's leading confectionary business Bambi, and the proposed deal is subject to regulatory approval.

Brexit Update: Tom Watson, a Labour MP, has warned post the resignation of seven MPs in protest at Jeremy Corbyn’s stance, that labour must change or should be ready to confront more resignations. Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Theresa May gets prepared to return to Brussels to gain concessions on her Brexit deal. Prime Minister May will visit European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in the coming days.

Performers and Laggards at London Stock Exchange (LSE)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â

Stocks like MCCOLL’S Retail Group Plc (MCLS.L), Vivo Energy Plc (VVO.L), FDM Group (Holdings) Plc (FDM.L) were among the best performers at the London Stock Exchange and were up by 11.4%, 7.8% and 7.1% respectively; on the other hand, stocks like Plus500 Ltd (PLUS.L), Oxford Biomedica Plc (OXB.L) and Alfa Financial Software Holdings Plc (ALFA.L) were among the top laggards at the LSE and were down by 12.4%, 5.0% and 4.8% respectively.

Shares of Lloyds Banking Group Plc (LLOY.L) and Vodafone Group Plc (VOD.L) were top active volume shares traded on LSE since last four days, with Centrica Plc (CNA.L) joining the top active volume group on Monday’s session.

Broader Market FTSE 100 Index Cues

Stocks like Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc (RB.L), Micro Focus International Plc (MCRO.L) and Next Plc (NXT.L) were among the top gainers on the broader equity benchmark FTSE 100 index and were up by 4.6%, 4.0% and 2.8% respectively, while on the other hand, stocks like Hikma Pharmaceuticals Plc (HIK.L), International Consolidated Airlines Group S.AÂ (IAG.L) and Smith (DS) Plc (SMDS.L) were laggards on the FTSE 100 index and were down by 2.3%, 2.1% and 1.9% respectively.

At sector front, Technology, Telecommunications Services and Utilities were top performing sectors at the broader equity benchmark FTSE 100 Index, but their gains got off-set by sectors like Healthcare, Energy and Industrials.

Commodity Market Cues

At the time of writing,

• Brent Crude Oil was seen around $ 66.49 per barrel and later traded a bit lower
• West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil was trading on Monday at $ 56.06 per barrel and later traded around the levels of $ 55.8
• Gold was at $ 1326.15 an ounce, and then later dipped a bit

London Metal Exchange Cues

At the time of writing,

• LME Aluminium was seen at $ 1,828.5 per tonne
• LME Copper was at $6,190.0 per tonne
• LME Lead was at $2,068 per tonne

These LME prices were seen to undergo changes with broader market updates.

Forex Cues

At the time of writing,

• British Pound was trading against the US Dollar (GBP/USD) at 1.2928
• Euro was trading against British Pound (EUR/GBP) at 0.875
• US Dollar index was trading against majors at $96.62

Money Market Cues

At the time of writing,

• US 10-year treasury bond was trading at higher at 2.664%
• British 10-year treasury bond was trading at 1.16%

Key Events to Watch

• On 20^th Feb, UK CBI Industrial Trends Orders