US and European Stocks Rise in Thursday’s Session; FTSE 100 up by 1.21%

US Markets: Broader indices in the United States traded in green - particularly, the S&P 500 index traded 14.83 points or 0.49 per cent higher at 3,050.96, Dow Jones Industrial Average Index expanded by 92.53 points or 0.36 per cent higher at 25,640.80, and the technology benchmark index Nasdaq Composite traded higher at 9,453.30, up by 40.94 points or 0.43 per cent against its previous day close (at the time of writing, before the U.S market close at 11:45 AM ET).

US News: Wall Street surged today (as on 28^th May before the market closed), while S&P 500 was hovering around three months high as smooth economic recovery cheering investor sentiments and overweighing apprehensions regarding US-China dispute. Meanwhile, the jobless claims for the last week elevated to 2.1 million though relatively smaller than previous weeks. Nevertheless, the total unemployment insurance claims have topped 40 million over the past 10 weeks. Also, the United States is planning to cancel visas of Chinese students as both the countries are at loggerheads post the proposal of national security legislation in Hong Kong. Among the gaining stocks, Boeing jumped over 3.5 per cent post resuming production of its 737 MAX (passenger jet). Advanced Micro Devices rose over 1.3 per cent post unveiling plans of launching a CPU in June. Likewise, Dollar Tree jump over 13.0 per cent post beating earnings estimates as stock piling of essential items resulted in better sales than expected. Among the decliners, Micron Technology shed around 3.3 per cent despite raising third-quarter revenue forecast. Facebook and Twitter dipped around 0.3 per cent and 2.1 per cent, respectively, as President Trump set to review the guidance against the material posted on social media platforms.

S&P 500 (SPX)

Top Performers*: Dollar Tree Inc, Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc, and Marketaxess Holdings Inc shares increased by 12.88 per cent, 8.10 per cent and 5.14 per cent, respectively.

Non Performers*: HP Inc, Xerox Holdings Corp and Harley-Davidson Inc shares decreased by 11.97 per cent, 6.41 per cent and 5.76 per cent, respectively.

NASDAQ Composite (IXIC)

Top Performers*: ARCA Biopharma Inc, Hexindai Inc and Aerpio Pharmaceuticals Inc shares expanded by 211.39 per cent, 192.71 per cent and 77.75 per cent, respectively.

Worst Performers*: GreenPro Capital Corp, SINTX Technologies Inc and Euroseas Ltd shares plunged by 19.38 per cent, 14.79 per cent and 14.12 per cent, respectively.

Top Performing Sectors*: Healthcare, (+1.65 per cent), Utilities (+1.51 per cent), and Telecommunications Services (+1.09 per cent).

Top Worst Sectors*: Financials (-0.31 per cent), Industrials (-0.11 per cent), and Energy (-0.03 per cent).

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI)

Top Performers*: Boing Co, Merck & Co Inc and Pfizer Inc shares climbed by around 3.58 per cent, 2.85 per cent and 2.27 per cent, respectively.

Worst Performers*: Walt Disney Co, Chevron Corp and American Express Co shares plunged by 2.16 per cent, 2.16 per cent and 2.02 per cent, respectively.

European Markets: The London’s broader equity benchmark index FTSE 100 traded at 74.54 points or 1.21 per cent higher at 6,218.79, the FTSE 250 index snapped at 194.86 points or 1.14 per cent higher at 17,338.48, and the FTSE All-Share Index ended 41.17 points or 1.21 per cent higher at 3,437.30, respectively. Another European index STOXX 600 ended up by 5.72 points or 1.64 per cent, at 355.47. Among other major European indices, DAX index closed the session at 11,781.13, up by 123.44 points or 1.06 per cent; CAC 40 index increased by 82.65 points or 1.76 per cent and ended the trading session at 4,771.39.

European News: London and European markets extended the gains as a swift revival of business activities fuelling hopes of a post-coronavirus economic rebound. Meanwhile, EU policymakers are set to inject a massive stimulus package for battered economies. Among the gaining stocks, Cineworld surged 24.7 per cent after revealing plans to reopen cinema in July. EasyJet gained 7.7 per cent post announcing plans to shrink fleet and cut staff. Boohoo jumped over 18.0 per cent post acquiring a 34 per cent stake (remaining share) in prettylittlething.com Limited. Synairgen rose over 3.2 per cent as it starts recruiting hospital patients for COVID-19 trail. Stagecoach jumped over 10.1 per cent after releasing its trading update. On the flip side, Rolls-Royce dipped around 4.7 per cent due to air travel slump.

London Stock Exchange

Top Three Performers*: CINEWORLD GROUP PLC (CINE), COSTAIN GROUP PLC (COST) and MARSTON'S PLC (MARS) accelerated significantly by 22.44 per cent, 17.42 per cent and 14.81 per cent, respectively.

Worst Performers*: ROLLS-ROYCE HOLDINGS PLC (RR), SQN ASSET FINANCE INCOME FUND LTD (SQNX) and ASCENTIAL PLC (ASCL) plunged by 8.03 per cent, 7.80 per cent and 7.76 per cent, respectively.

FTSE 100 Index Performance

3 months FTSE 100 Index Performance (May-28-2020), before the market closed (Source: Refinitiv, Thomson Reuters)

Best Gainers*: EVRAZ PLC (EVR), M&G PLC (MNG) and BURBERRY GROUP PLC (BRBY) expanded by 7.29 per cent, 7.25 per cent and 6.86 per cent, respectively.

Non Performers*: ROLLS-ROYCE HOLDINGS PLC (RR.), STANDARD CHARTERED PLC (STAN) and HSBC HLDGS PLC (HSBA) traded in red zone and decreased by 7.69 per cent, 3.38 per cent and 3.09 per cent, respectively.

Active Three Stocks (traded with high volume)*: (LLOY) LLOYDS BANKING GROUP PLC; (BARC) BARCLAYS PLC; (VOD) VODAFONE GROUP PLC.

Top Sectors traded in the positive zone*: Healthcare (+3.69 per cent), Utilities (+2.39 per cent), and Consumer Cyclicals (+1.86 per cent).

Top Sector traded in the negative zone*: Financials (-0.32 per cent).

Crude Oil Prices*: WTI crude oil (future) price was tilting at $34.02 per barrel, and Brent future crude oil (future) price was nudging at $36.42 per barrel.

Forex Rates*: GBP to USD and EUR to GBP were hovering at 1.2336 and 0.8988, respectively.

Bond Yields*: U.S 10-Year Treasury yield was tilting at 0.702 per cent, and the UK 10-Year Government Bond yield was hovering at 0.220 per cent, respectively.

*At the time of writing