Related Articles
Owing to the statements received in the past 24-hours, the uncertainty regarding Brexit is apparently higher than ever before. Whether a deal will be struck between the United Kingdom (UK) and the European Union (EU) in the EU Summit that is set to start tomorrow is anybody’s guess. Blend it with the rising tensions between the United States of America and China following the latter pledging to retaliate hard against the U.S bill on Hong Kong, the recent decline in the FTSE 100 index begins to make sense.
FTSE 100’s Current Performance
The index opened at 7,211.64 on Wednesday morning. Following an immediate drop to 7,195.07 level, the market has made a daily high of 7,216.19. Footsie was, however, unable to sustain the high and was reported to have fallen to the daily low of 7,187.37 soon after. The market is currently trading at 7,192.59 level.
Amidst the macroeconomically derived uncertainty, FTSE 100 listed housebuilders stocks have declined sharply. Barratt Developments has taken the lead with a drop of 3.7% while the competitors Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon have declined by around 3% each.
Business-Level News To Look For
In the business level news, the newly appointed interim chief for HSBC Holdings, Mr. Noel Quinn, is working diligently to minimize the costs across the organization as evidenced by the recently announced partnership with Bank Lazard Ltd, directed at selling the subsidiary French retail business.
According to Tuesday’s announcement by the Communications Workers Union (CWU), the staff at Royal Mail is expected to launch a nationwide strike following the service’s failure to abide by last year’s pension deal.
Officials at the Norco, Louisiana’s chemical plant of Royal Dutch Shell have reported that the recent incident of fire may have been linked with malfunctioning olefin (OL-5) cracker.
In terms of significant financial data being revealed on Wednesday, ASOS, Applied Graphene Materials, and Tristel are expected to announce their annual earnings report later today. Rio Tinto’s Q3 operations review, Segro’s Q3 trading statement and Mediclinic International’s Q2 trading statement have also been released. Duke Royalty, and Loungers PLC will be holding the annual general meetings (AGMs) in moments from now.
Important Economic Data As Market Mover
Finally, the economic data such as the UK’s consumer spending that was recently revealed to be lower (1.7%) than forecasted (1.8%) is also expected to be mirrored in the FTSE 100 index. The BoE Governor, Mr. Carney is also set to deliver a speech at 14:00 GMT +1 which is likely to be of interest for the investors as well.
Economist Mr. Gertjan Vlieghe has recently opinionated that further leniency in monetary policy and the need for a rate cut from the bank of England will get prominent in an event that Boris administration complies with the Benn act and requests for an extension to the European Union regarding Brexit.
I began trading in my early 20’s and since then have combined my knowledge and love of the industry to become a news writer. I am passionate about bringing insightful articles to readers and hope to add some value to your portfolios!
Source link
