Quick Update on the UK Markets’ Performance; Kingfisher up by 14.62%

US Markets: Broader indices in the United States traded in green - particularly, the S&P 500 index traded 12.54 points or 0.38 per cent higher at 3,269.84, Dow Jones Industrial Average Index expanded by 106.65 points or 0.40 per cent higher at 26,947.05, and the technology benchmark index Nasdaq Composite traded higher at 10,706.80, up by 26.44 points or 0.25 per cent against the previous day close (at the time of writing, before the U.S market close at 12:20 PM ET).

US Market News: The Wall Street had a choppy session on Wednesday as the US president stated that the pandemic could get worse before it gets better. Meanwhile, as per the Mortgage Bankers Association data, the mortgage loan applications for the week ended 17 July 2020 increased by 4.1 percent week on week. Among the gaining stocks, Best Buy surged by about 9.4 percent after the company reported its sales were up by approximately 15 percent post-lockdown. Spotify was up by close to 6.5 percent after the company entered into licensing deal with Universal Music Group. Pfizer inched up by about 3.3 percent after the US agreed to pay USD 2.0 billion to Pfizer and BioNTech to supply 100 million coronavirus vaccines. Among the decliners, Snap was down by close to 6.0 percent after the company missed its forecast of user growth. United Airline's shares were down by close to 2.3 percent after the company reported a loss of USD 1.6 billion in the second quarter.

S&P 500 (SPX)

Top Three Performers*: HCA Healthcare Inc (HCA), Best Buy Co Inc (BBY), and NVR Inc (NVR) stocks jumped by 9.70 per cent, 8.14 per cent and 6.78 per cent, respectively.

Non Performers*: FirstEnergy Corp (FE), Kohls Corp (KSS) and Apache Corp (APA) shares decreased by 22.42 per cent, 7.21 per cent and 3.62 per cent, respectively.

NASDAQ Composite (IXIC)

Elite Three Performers*: SUNDANCE Energy Inc (SNDE), US Energy Corp (USEG) and SPI Energy Co Ltd (SPI) shares traded in the green zone and expanded by 79.06 per cent, 50.50 per cent and 43.75 per cent, respectively.

Worst Three Performers*: Verb Technology Company (VERB), Novan Inc (NOVN) and Midatech Pharma Plc (MTPH) shares contracted by 26.56 per cent, 23.25 per cent and 20.70 per cent, respectively.

Top Performing Sectors*: Basic Materials (+1.22 per cent), Technology (+0.66 per cent) and Healthcare (+0.62 per cent).

Top Worst Sector*: Energy (-0.40 per cent).

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI)

Best Three Performers*: Pfizer Inc (PFE), Mcdonald’s Corp (MCD) and International Business Machines Corporations (IBM) shares were in bright spot and surged by around 3.49 per cent, 2.16 per cent and 2.01 per cent, respectively.

Worst Performer*: Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM), Chevron Corp (CVX) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS) shares contracted by 2.26 per cent, 1.81 per cent and 1.45 per cent, respectively.

European Markets: The London’s broader equity benchmark index FTSE 100 traded at 62.63 points or 1.00 per cent lower at 6,207.10, the FTSE 250 index snapped at 36.10 points or 0.21 per cent lower at 17,465.73, and the FTSE All-Share Index ended 29.61 points or 0.85 per cent lower at 3,439.24, respectively. Another European index STOXX 600 decreased by 3.26 points or 0.87 per cent, at 373.44. Among other major European indices, CAC 40 index decreased by 67.16 points or 1.32 per cent and ended the trading session at 5,037.12; DAX index closed the session at 13,104.25, down by 67.58 points or 0.51 per cent.

European News: London and the European market retreated as pessimism over coronavirus cases deepened. As per the industry expert's data, the British economy is expected to bounce back at the fastest rate in July 2020 to September 2020 quarter after declining the most in April 2020 to June 2020 quarter. Among the gaining stocks, Kingfisher soared by about 13.9 percent after the company highlighted it expects improved second-half earnings compared to the last year. Stagecoach was up by about 11.1 percent although the company reported lower earnings in FY20 compared to FY19. Among the decliners, Melrose Industries plunged around 15.3 percent after the company reported a quarterly loss. Shell declined by about 3.0 percent after the company is to be fined by the Italian prosecutors over corruption charges in Nigeria. Similarly, Antofagasta was down by about 0.4 percent after the company reported lower output in the second quarter.

London Stock Exchange

Top Three Performers*: AMIGO HOLDINGS PLC (AMGO), MEDICLINIC INTERNATIONAL PLC (MDC) and KINGFISHER PLC (KGF) accelerated significantly by 15.94 per cent, 14.02 per cent and 13.15 per cent, respectively.

Worst Performers*: MELROSE INDUSTRIES PLC (MRO), HUNTING PLC (HTG) and RPS GROUP PLC (RPS) plunged by 15.53 per cent, 11.39 per cent and 8.71 per cent, respectively.

FTSE 100 Index Performance

3 months FTSE 100 Index Performance (22 July 2020), before the market close (Source: Refinitiv, Thomson Reuters)

Best three Gainers*: KINGFISHER PLC (LON:KGF), FRESNILLO PLC (LON:FRES) & POLYMETAL INTERNATIONAL PLC (LON:POLY) leapt up by 13.24 per cent, 11.55 per cent and 3.06 per cent, respectively.

Non Performers*: MELROSE INDUSTRIES PLC (LON:MRO), BURBERRY GROUP PLC (LON:BRBY) and ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC (LON:RDSB) traded in the red zone and decreased by 15.57 per cent, 3.61 per cent and 3.45 per cent, respectively.

Stocks traded with decent volume*: (LLOY) LLOYDS BANKING GROUP PLC; (MRO) MELROSE INDUSTRIES PLC; (BP.) BP Plc.

Top Sectors traded in the positive zone*: Technology (+1.19 per cent), Basic Materials (+0.21 per cent) and Consumer Cyclicals (+0.04 per cent).

Top Sectors traded in the negative zone*: Energy (-2.51 per cent), Healthcare (-1.00 per cent) and Industrials (-0.72 per cent).

Crude Oil Future Prices*: WTI crude oil (future) price and Brent future crude oil (future) price were hovering at $41.91 per barrel and $44.33 per barrel, respectively.

Gold Price*: Gold price was trading at USD 1,864.65 per ounce, up by 1.13% from previous day closing.

Forex Rates*: GBP to USD and EUR to GBP were trading at 1.2738 and 0.9082, respectively.

Bond Yields*: U.S 10-Year Treasury yield and UK 10-Year Government Bond yield were tilting at 0.595 per cent and 0.115 per cent, respectively.

*At the time of writing