Prospects Of Brexit Deal Further Declines After A Call Between Johnson And Merkel

Global Markets*: Equity benchmark indices in the United States traded in red, with Dow Jones Industrial Average Index fell off 133.51 points or 0.50% at 26,344.51, the market-cap-weighted S&P 500 Index plummeted 22.02 points or 0.75% to 2,916.76 and the technology benchmark index Nasdaq Composite declined 61.31 points or 0.77% to 7,894.99 (as on October 08, 2019 at 01:55 PM ET).

Global News*: On 8th October 2019, the Wall Street opened on a mixed bag, as the anticipation had risen regarding the trade talks with China and an announcement to be made by the chair of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell later in the day. Boeing shed 2.1 per cent as compared to the previous close after it was reported that the comeback of the Boeing 737 max could be delayed as the European Aviation Safety agency doesn’t believe that the planes are completely safe. Shares of Nokia were up by 0.31 per cent and Ericsson was up by 1.06 per cent after reports coming up that the US is seeking ways to funnel money to Huawei’s rivals in Europe, which could also include offering credit facilities to both the companies. Target Corp. was also up 0.30 per cent after announcing a partnership with the parent company of Toys ‘R’ Us brand, Tru Kids to power the company’s online business and platform.

Worst Performing Sectors*: Industrials (down 1.33%), Technology (down 1.25%), and Healthcare (down 1.24%).

S&P 500 (SPX)*

Top Performers:Â Altria Group Inc, Noble Energy Inc and Newmont Goldcorp Corp are top gainers and increased by 0.97%, 0.91% and 0.71% respectively.

Worst Performers:Â PerkinElmer Inc, Waters Corp and Mettler-Toledo International Inc are the top three laggards and decreased by 6.92%, 6.07% and 4.84% respectively.

NASDAQ Composite (IXIC)*

Top Performers:Â Superconductor Technologies Inc, Asure Software Inc, and Neurotrope Inc are top gainers and increased by 51.09%, 24.48% and 17.55% respectively.

Worst Performers:Â Puma Biotechnology Inc, DASAN Zhone Solutions Inc and Peck Company Holdings Inc are the top three laggards and decreased by 17.48%, 16.01% and 14.66% respectively.

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI)*

Top Performers:Â Walmart Inc and UnitedHealth Group Inc are top gainers and increased by 0.16% and 0.08% respectively.

Worst Performers: Caterpiller Inc, Goldman Sachs Group Inc and JPMorgan Chase & Co are the top three laggards and decreased by 1.95%, 1.93% and 1.77% respectively.

European Markets: The London’s broader equity benchmark index FTSE 100 traded at 54.73 points or 0.76% lower at 7,143.15, the FTSE 250 index snapped 219.34 points or 1.13% lower at 19,200.90, and the FTSE All-Share Index ended 32.05 points or 0.81% lower at 3,918.17 respectively. Another European equity benchmark index STOXX 600 ended at 378.71, down by 4.20 points or 1.10 per cent.

European News*: As it looked increasingly imminent that the United Kingdom would not be able to reach a deal with the European Union over Brexit by 31 October, blame game between the two sides started, after a source from Downing Street claimed that German Chancellor Angela Merkel had made unacceptable demands, making signing of a deal impossible. European Council President Tusk rebuked Prime Minister Boris Johnson for his attempts to shift the blame on EU. Irish Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe pledged a €1.2 billion package to keep firms afloat in a no-deal Brexit budget for 2020, as the country prepared for the worst-case scenario. Amid reports that talks between the European Union and Britain were close to breaking down, sterling touched a one-month low against the euro on Tuesday.

London Stock Exchange*

Top Performers: PETRA DIAMONDS LD (PDL), SANNE GROUP PLC (SNN) and ELECTROCOMPONENTS PLC (ECM) were top gainers and leapt up by 13.75%, 4.14% and 3.17% respectively.

Worst Performers: INTU PROPERTIES PLC (INTU), PAGEGROUP PLC (PAGE) and EASYJET PLC (EZJ) were the top three losers and dipped by 17.25%, 12.40% and 8.96% respectively.

FTSE 100 Index*

 Price Performance in Last Five days (October-08-2019), before the market closed (Chart sourced from Thomson Reuters)

Top Gainers: POLYMETAL INTERNATIONAL PLC (POLY), COCA-COLA HBC AG (CCH) and FRESNILLO PLC (FRES) were top performers and edged up by 2.80%, 2.00% and 1.81% respectively.

Top Laggards: LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE GROUP PLC (LSE), ITV PLC (ITV) and WHITBREAD PLC (WTB) were the worst performers and beaten down by 4.67%, 3.67% and 3.59% respectively.

Volume Leaders: (LLOY) LLOYDS BANKING GROUP PLC; (VOD) VODAFONE GROUP PLC; (BP.) BP PLC.

Top Performing Sectors: Healthcare (up 0.11%).

Worst Performing Sectors: Consumer Cyclicals (down 1.32%), Financials (down 1.17%), and Basic Materials (down 0.56%).

FX Rates*: GBP/USD and EUR/GBP were quoting at 1.2199 and 0.8987.

US and UK 10-Year Bond Yields*: The US 10-year and the UK 10-year Bond yields were quoting at 1.517% and 0.418% respectively.

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*At the time of writing.