Today’s highlights
- Wall Street recovers
- Cryptos back in the green
- UK100 ends Friday flat
Wall Street back in the green
All of the major stock indices gained on Friday. It only took US stock markets a day to get over President Biden’s tax plan, which had caused stocks to sink on Thursday. Financial stocks led the rebound, with the SPX500’s financials sector adding 1.9%, bringing it to par for the week. At the top of the DJ30, Goldman Sachs added 2.6% on Friday, while JPMorgan Chase was up 1.9%. However, from a weekly perspective, indices were marginally in the red, with the SPX500 down 0.1% and the NASDAQ100 off by 0.7%. Semiconductor stocks suffered a notably rough week, with Intel a big loser at -8.5%.
Crypto markets recover
After tumbling all the way below $50,000, Bitcoin remained lower throughout the weekend. However, over the past 24 hours, the world’s largest crypto experienced an upswing, climbing more than 5% to reach above $52,000 at time of writing. Other top 10 cryptos were also seen higher, including double-digit gains from Ethereum and Uniswap.
UK100 unchanged on Friday
London-listed shares fell last week, with the UK100 down 1.2%. Oil firm Royal Dutch Shell , one of the index’s biggest component stocks, was a significant detractor at -3.4%. In 2021 so far, Royal Dutch Shell is up 8.2%, while key rival BP has gained 14.6%. At the front of the pack, precious metals miner Polymetal International added 3.8% last week, taking its one month gain to 14.5%. Friday’s trading session was an unusual one, with the UK100 not moving in either direction.
Other highlights
Asian markets seen lower: Markets in the East were in the red this morning, as the China50 and HKG50 indices both registered noticeable declines, while the JPN225 was seen slightly below the flatline at time of writing.
Oil seen lower: After closing out last week with two consecutive sessions in the green, the black gold was seen lower this morning.
Airline stocks decline: It was a rocky week for airline stocks, which tumbled at the start of the week but then recovered partially as it progressed. United, Delta, and American Airlines closed the week down 4.9%, 1.8%, and 4.2% respectively.
Spotify jumps ahead of earnings: Music streaming giant Spotify will report its earnings this Wednesday. Ahead of the report, the SPOT stock jumped on Friday, closing more than 7$ higher. For the most recent and significant price movements in markets, check out the Market Movers page.
Tesla to report earnings today: One of the highlights of the week will be electric car giant Tesla’s earnings report today, after markets close. The firm’s share price has been volatile in 2021 so far; the firm’s share price is up 3.4% year-to-date, but is up 17.9% over the past month and down 13.9% over the past three months.
Europe opens nearly flat: The UK100 opened 5 points lower, the GER30 was up 1 point and the FRA40 was down 1 point.
