Market Updates: 6 January

3 min read | January 05, 2021 11:31 PM PST | By Kunal Sawhney

FTSE 100 likely to open in green as vaccination drive restores confidence

UK stock markets are likely to open in green on Wednesday, 6 January, tracking the upbeat Wall Street and the restored confidence amidst the investors on the back of the ongoing Covid-19 vaccination drive. Around 0636 GMT, the FTSE 100 futures was trading 0.65 per cent higher at 6,593, indicating a positive opening on Wednesday.

Equities check

Earlier on Tuesday, London equities turned flat after the announcement of lockdown grants by the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak but the persisting vaccine optimism steered the benchmark indices to end on a positive footing. The higher Dow Industrials also supported the domestic equity market gains in the terminal hours of trading.

At the end of the trading session, FTSE 100 managed to close 0.61 per cent higher at 6,612.25, the broader stock market indices including FTSE 250, FTSE 350 and FTSE All-Share concluded with gains of up to 0.87 per cent.

Markets stay sensitive

With the Downing Street administration adjusting with the post-Brexit arrangement, the day-to-day progressing inoculation of vulnerable patients and unfolding repercussions of the newly-imposed national lockdown are likely to dictate the market direction in the new future.

The health authorities are working conclusively to arrest the rapidly rising number of new cases and the effective pressure on the NHS. On 5 January, Prime Minister Boris Johnson also restated the concern over the mounting number of cases citing the Office of the National Statistics (ONS) data. According to ONS, over 2 per cent of the population of England is now infected; that is more than a million people.

GBP hold gains

The GBP vs USD pair traded marginally changed in the positive region on Wednesday. At around 0658 GMT, the GBP to USD pair was trading at 0.04 per cent higher at 1.3630 from the previous closing of 1.3624. The Bank of England had fixed a currency conversion rate of 1.3579 USD against Great Britain pound on 4 January, while a unit of pound sterling equalled 1.1065 EUR, the BoE data showed.

GBP vs USD (6 Jan)

(Source: EODHD/Others, Thomson Reuters)

Commodity & crypto

With the continuing profit booking in the safe-haven after the sharp spike on Monday, an ounce of gold was trading 0.26 per cent lower at $1,944.99. The energy market extended the gains on Wednesday with a barrel of Brent crude oil trading 0.78 per cent higher at $54.02 and WTI crude hovering 0.44 per cent higher at $50.15 per barrel.

The cryptocurrency market witnessed a massive spike on Wednesday with bitcoin rocketing a little more than 13 per cent in the trade today. According to the data available with Binance, a unit of bitcoin was trading 13.14 per cent higher at $35,140.88.

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