Markets Wobble As EU Leaders Decide On Brexit Extension

Global Markets: Benchmark indices in the United States traded higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average traded marginally higher at 26,813.97, up by 25.87 points or 0.10%, the S&P 500 index added 2.88 points or 0.10% to 2,998.87, and the technology benchmark index Nasdaq Composite surged by 6.64 points or 0.08% to 8,110.93 (at the time of writing, before the US market close, 1:55 PM ET).

Global News: On 23rd October 2019, Wall Street opened on a flat note, post-earnings report of Caterpillar as well as Texas Instruments lead to confusion over the impact of the U.S.-China trade war. Texas Instruments stock was down 8.7 per cent after its guidance for the full year was much worse than the market anticipated. Eli Lily stock plunged 5.5 per cent after its reported revenue did not meet the market forecasts. Boeing was up 2.7 per cent after news reports suggested that the company expected for its 737 Max jet to return to service in the fourth quarter of the year. Apple’s stock was up by 0.9 per cent and Netflix had jumped 1.8 per cent as the market showed signs of rallying behind technology stocks in the day. Nike was down by 1.6 per cent after it was reported that the long-term CEO Mark Parker, who has held the job for the last 14 years, will step down from his position as the CEO, though retaining his position as the executive chairman.

S&P 500 (SPX)

Top Performers: Rollins Inc, Avery Dennison Corp and Invesco Ltd are top gainers and increased by 10.73%, 7.17% and 5.43% respectively.

Worst Performers: Texas Instruments Inc, Analog Devices Inc and Eli Lilly & Co are the top three laggards and decreased by 7.40%, 4.74% and 4.54% respectively.

NASDAQ Composite (IXIC)

Top Performers: Cemtrex Inc, Nano Dimension Ltd, and Tile Shop Holdings Inc are top gainers and increased by 45%, 42.07% and 35.40% respectively.

Worst Performers:Â Kingold Jewelry Inc, CHF Solutions Inc and Midatech Pharma Plc are the top three laggards and decreased by 22.82%, 21.28% and 20.86% respectively.

Top Performing Sectors: Healthcare (up 0.31%), Technology (up 0.29%) and Telecommunication services (up 0.14%).

Worst Performing Sector: Industrials (down 0.07%).

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI)

Top Performers:Â Boeing Co, Travelers Companies Inc and Dow Inc are top gainers and increased by 3.61%, 0.98% and 0.81% respectively.

Worst Performers: Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc, Nike Inc and Caterpillar Inc are the top three laggards and decreased by 1.86%, 1.72%, and 1.56% respectively.

European Markets: The London’s broader equity benchmark index FTSE 100 traded at 48.25 points or 0.67% higher at 7,260.74, the FTSE 250 index snapped 0.97 points or 0.01% lower at 20,180.94, and the FTSE All-Share Index ended 21.33 points or 0.54% higher at 4,003.99 respectively. Another European equity benchmark index STOXX 600 ended at 395.03, up by 0.44 points or 0.11 per cent.

European News: The pledge by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to get the country out of the European Union by the latest deadline looked in doubt as the parliament rejected a three-day timetable to enact his agreement and EU leaders pondered on Wednesday whether to give Britain a three-month Brexit extension. The PM said that if a long extension is granted, he would call an election by Christmas, which would require approval from the lawmakers. While EU officials expect a 3-month delay, with an earlier exit if ready. As investors were still unsure about the final timing and shape of withdrawal from the European Union, the blue-chip FTSE 100 inched higher, while domestically focussed FTSE 250 slid on Wednesday.

London Stock Exchange*

Top Performers: FUNDING CIRCLE HOLDINGS PLC (FCH), HOSTELWORLD GROUP PLC (HSW) and MCBRIDE PLC (MCB) were top gainers and leapt up by 8.86%, 7.46% and 6.03% respectively.

Worst Performers: INDIVIOR PLC (INDV), DEVRO PLC (DVO) and LAMPRELL PLC (LAM) were the top three laggards and dipped by 8.11%, 5.63% and 4.89% respectively.

FTSE 100 Index*

5 days share price performance (October-23-2019), before the market closed (Chart sourced from Thomson Reuters)

Top Gainers: M&G PLC (MNG), EVRAZ PLC (EVR) and STANDARD LIFE ABERDEEN PLC (SLA) were top performers and accelerated by 4.34%, 3.31% and 2.61% respectively.

Top Laggards: HISCOX LD (HSX), ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND GROUP PLC (RBS) and BERKELEY GROUP HOLDINGS (THE) PLC (BKG) were the poor performers and tumbled by 2.62%, 2.37% and 1.98% respectively.

Volume Leaders: (MNG) M&G PLC; (LLOY) LLOYDS BANKING GROUP PLC; (VOD) VODAFONE GROUP PLC.

Best Performing Sectors: Basic Materials (up 1.34%), Energy (up 1.25%), and Telecommunications Services (up 1.09%).

Worst Performing Sector: Financials (down 0.07%).

Forex Rates*: GBP/USD and EUR/GBP were quoting at 1.2890 and 0.8632, respectively.

Bond Yields*: U.S 10-Year Treasuries yield was quoting at 1.752%, and the UK 10-Year Government Bond yield was trading at 0.683%, respectively.

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*At the time of writing