AUS
NZ
UK
CA
USA
IND
US Markets: Broader indices in the United States were closed in red during Fridayâs trading session. The S&P 500 index traded 18.07 points or 0.54% lower at 3,327.71, Dow Jones Industrial Average Index slumped by 277.26 points or 0.94% lower at 29,102.51, and the technology benchmark index Nasdaq Composite traded lower at 9,520.51, down by 51.64 points or 0.54% against its previous day closing price.
US News: Wall Street ended Fridayâs trading session on the losing streak as coronavirus concerns offset the US employment data. The US created 225,000 jobs (during the last month) which were well ahead as compared to the consensus forecast of 160,000 jobs. During the trading session, Bedding group Casper Sleep slumped around 16 per cent after making a strong trading debut on Thursday. Shares which were in the bright spot were Uber and Pinterest, after reporting better than expected earnings. As a result, Uber Technologies shares zoomed up by around 10 per cent and Pinterest stock was up by around 9.5 per cent.Â
S&P 500 (SPX)
Top Performers*: NortonLifeLock Inc., National Oilwell Varco Inc, and Intercontinental Exchange Inc are top gainers and increased by 11.02%, 10.83% and 5.33% respectively.
Worst Performers*: Take-two Interactive software Inc., Fleetcor Technologies Inc. and Ebay Inc. were among the beaten down stocks and plunged by 10.67%, 6.07% and 4.53% respectively.
NASDAQ Composite (IXIC)
Top Performers*: Assertio Therapeutics Inc, LightPath Technologies Inc, and Telenav Inc are top gainers and increased by 48.08%, 35.90% and 27.64% respectively.
Worst Performers*: Salaries Pharmaceuticals Inc., Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding corp., and Myriad Genetics Inc traded in red zone and were hammered by 54.77%, 36.32% and 32.84% respectively.
Top Performing Sectors*: Telecommunication Services (up 0.85%) and Utilities (up 0.15%).
Worst Performing Sectors*: Industries (Down 0.46%), financials (down 0.26%) and Consumer Cyclicals (down 0.08%).
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI)
Top Performers*: Verizon Communication Inc, United Technologies Corp, and Coca cola are top gainers and increased by 0.50%, 0.12% and 0.05% respectively.
Worst Performers*: Dow Inc, Caterpiller Inc, and Walt Disney co. are top laggards and decreased by 2.22%, 1.73% and 1.56% respectively.
European Markets: During the Fridayâs trading session, FTSE-100 index closed at 38.09 points or 0.51% lower at 7,466.70, the FTSE 250 index ended 73.57 points or 0.34% lower at 21,499.29, and the FTSE All-Share Index ended the session - 19.74 points or 0.47% lower at 4,151.15 respectively. Also, European equity benchmark index STOXX 600 ended the trading session - 1.13 points or 0.27 per cent lower at 424.36.
European News: Â Â In economic news, a survey conducted by accounting firm BDO, has revealed that the sales in the retail sector in United Kingdom has jumped by 5.7 per cent in the month of January 2020, a high not seen since January 2014. This data comes in the heels of several of the economic indicators of the economy already showing signs of recovery since the victory of the Prime minister Boris Johnson in the 12 December 2019 general elections. The sector had seen dwindling sales figures in the past couple of years due to the effects of Pre Brexit jittery which saw several high streets retailers shutting shop in the country.
London Stock Exchange (LSE)
Top LSE Companies in the Gainers list*: ANGLO-EASTERN PLANTATIONS PLC (AEP), FUTURE PLC (FUTR) and ALFA FINANCIAL SOFTWARE HOLDINGS PL (ALFA) zoomed up by 8.25%, 7.39% and 6.86% respectively.
Top LSE Companies traded in red zone*: NMC HEALTH PLC (NMC), KIER GROUP PLC (KIE) and CMC MARKETS PLC (CMCX) were hammered by 22.22%, 8.82% and 8.37% respectively.
FTSE 100 Index Performance
 FTSE-100 index 5-day performance â February 7th, 2020 (Source: Thomson Reuters)
Top FTSE 100 Companies traded in green zone*: SMURFIT KAPPA GROUP PLC (SKG), STANDARD LIFE ABERDEEN PLC (SLA), and FERGUSON PLC (FERG) surged by 3.23%, 1.93% and 1.72% respectively.
Top FTSE 100 Companies traded in red zone*: NMC HEALTH PLC (NMC), HARGREAVES LANSDOWN PLC (HL.), ANTOFAGASTA PLC (ANTO) were hammered by 22.22%, 6.09% and 3.61% respectively.
Shares traded with high volume*: LLOYDS GRP. (LLOY), VODAFONE GRP. (VOD) and HARGREAVES LANSDOWN PLC (HL).
Sectors in the positive zone*: Telecommunications Services (up 0.64%) and Financials (up 0.23%).
Sectors in the negative zone*: Basic Materials (-2.10%), Energy (-0.89%) and Industrials (-0.78%).
Forex Rates*: GBP/USD and EUR/GBP were quoting at 1.2892 and 0.8491, respectively.
10 Year Bond Yields (US and UK)*: U.S 10-Year Treasuries yield was quoting at 1.582%, and the UK 10-Year Government Bond yield was trading at 0.573%, respectively.Â
*At the time of writing the commentary.
