AUS
NZ
UK
CA
USA
IND
_(1).jpg)
FTSE 100 turns flat as ‘lockdown grants’ fail to lift investors’ mood
UK stock markets surrendered most of the morning gains in the afternoon deals on Tuesday, 5 January, with the headline FTSE 100 index turning flat after opening in positive territory. Chancellor Sunak’s announcement of lockdown grants seemed to have failed in impressing the investor class, renewing the fears over the business disparity.
The Prime Minister’s cautious speech pointing to the alarmingly high rate of hospital admissions and the new cases have also retraced the short-lived optimism. The government’s idea of supporting the businesses with one-off grants has had a downcast effect on the expectations from a prospective relief package. A large section of businesses was anticipating continuous support throughout the national lockdown.
Markets retreat from highs
According to the latest data available with the London Stock Exchange, the FTSE 100 index was trading marginally changed at 6,575.52, up 0.05 per cent at around 1425 GMT from the previous close of 6,571.88. During the day so far, the benchmark index has made a high and low of 6,622.77 and 6,544.25, respectively.
FTSE 100 (5 January)
(Source: EODHD/Others, Thomson Reuters)
Surprisingly, all the broader share indices of the London Stock Exchange have also slowed down in a nearly similar fashion as compared to the FTSE 100 index. The FTSE All-Share was trading 0.15 per cent higher at 3,730.11, FTSE 350 was hovering at 3,756.78, up 0.14 per cent, while FTSE 250 was trading at 20,616.38, up 0.38 per cent.
GBP manages to float higher
The GBP vs USD pair has traded in the positive region for the most part of the day so far, recoiling from the dip realised after the announcement of lockdown grants. The pound sterling hovering on a higher side has been largely due to elongated weakness of the greenback against a basket of international currencies including euro.
As per the latest data, the GBP to USD pair was trading at 1.3601, up 0.23 per cent from the previous close of 1.3569. The Bank of England had fixed a currency conversion rate of 1.3579 USD and 1.1065 EUR against a unit of pound sterling on 4 January.
Commodity check
Commodities market bounced back in the positive direction with an ounce of gold trading 0.14 per cent higher at $1,945.47 after a short session of profit-booking. The oil market seemed to be quite vibrant on Tuesday with a barrel of Brent crude oil trading at $52.78, up 3.31 per cent and WTI crude hovering 3.80 per cent higher at $52.78 per barrel.
