Key Points
- FTSE 100 closing price of 6,944.71, +0.9%
- FTSE 250 hits record high
- Anglo American to spin off thermal coal business
- USD weak after jobless claims data, lower yields
- WTI and Brent crude futures both decline
By Samuel Indyk
Investing.com – The FTSE 100 closed higher on Thursday as a decline in energy stocks was offset by broad based gains across many sectors. A relatively weak GBP continues to support UK equities as EUR/GBP gained for the third consecutive day. Rising from a low below 0.8500 to a high above 0.8650 this week. The jump in EUR/GBP comes as Covid cases appear to be getting under control in much of Europe, the vaccine programme seems to be picking up pace and the UK vaccination speed slows down.
The FTSE 250 hit a record high despite weakness in some travel and leisure shares such as Stagecoach Group PLC (LON:SGC) and Wizz Air Holdings PLC (LON:WIZZ). Nevertheless, the FTSE 100 still remains below last year’s peak and the all-time high above 7,900 from May 2018.
Anglo American PLC (LON:AAL) was one of the better performers after the company announced they plan to demerge their thermal coal assets and list the new company in Johannesburg and London, after coming under shareholder pressure to lessen their environmental impact.
Johnson Matthey PLC (LON:JMAT) shares also jumped after the company announced FY results would be near the top end of expectations. The company also announced a strategic review of their Health business.
The US Dollar Index was weak as US yields retreated and following the weekly initial jobless claims data. The US Department of Labor said initial jobless claims totalled 744,000, above the expected 680,000 and up from last week’s 728,000.
The United States 10-Year yield continues to show signs of stabilising after a rapid rise in recent months as economies begin to reopen and growth expectations get revised higher.
WTI and Brent crude futures both fell amid demand fears with cases of Covid-19 increasing dramatically in growing economies such as India and South America. India has now recorded record high numbers of cases in each of the last two days, with rates increasing tenfold since the end of February. India is the second largest net importer of crude oil.
Bitcoin was stable, rising 2% after finding support above $55,000. US asset management company State Street Corp (NYSE:STT) announced they had signed a deal to provide their trading technology to the Pure Digital platform. Pure Digital is expected to launch later this year and will provide tier 1 banks a trading venue to trade Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Leave a comment