Today’s highlights
- Wall Street closes higher
- Crypto recovery continues
- UK markets in the green
New records on Wall Street
It was a mixed day for the major US stock indices yesterday, as the DJ30 closed the day 0.2% lower while the NASDAQ100 and SPX500 both notched fresh all-time highs. In the DJ30, losses from Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola and Walmart outweighed a positive day for financial stocks. American Express led the index at +4.2%, after some positive analyst responses to the firm’s Friday earnings report. The NASDAQ100 was led higher yesterday by 3% plus gains from semiconductor firms Advanced Micro Devices, Xilinx and Skyworks Solutions, plus digital contracts firm DocuSign.
Cryptos remain higher
The positive momentum seen in crypto markets to start the week persisted over the past 24 hours, as the majority of top 10 cryptos were in the green at time of writing. XRP led the way, climbing more than 25% since yesterday. Uniswap also registered doubled-digit gains and, outside the top 10, both Stellar and TRON added more than 10% since yesterday.
Rolls Royce leads the UK100 higher
Rolls-Royce led the UK100 higher yesterday with a daily gain of 6%, bringing it close to positive territory in 2021. Miner Antofagasta and International Consolidated Airlines Group rounded out the day’s top three, with both adding just over 4%. Comments from the president of the European Commission that vaccinated travelers will be allowed to visit the EU this summer helped both Rolls Royce and IAG higher, given that both are dependent on a resurgence in international travel. Antofagasta, which is a major copper miner, has added more than 30% to its share price this year after gaining more than 50% during 2020. That share price growth has been driven by the soaring price of copper - a significant trend last year that has continued in 2021.
Other highlights
Big tech earnings this week: Both Alphabet (Google) and Microsoft will be reporting quarterly earnings today after markets close. Apple and Facebook will share their reports tomorrow and Amazon will release its earnings on Thursday. Investors can gain exposure to these stocks through the BigTech CopyPortfolio.
Oil shows recovery: After yesterday dipping below $61, oil prices eventually recovered to close above the mark, while still registering overall losses. This morning, however, the black gold was in the green at time of writing, climbing above $62.
Asian markets mixed: While the JPN225 was in the red at time of writing, both the HKG50 and China50 were in the green.
Ocugen leaps on direct offering news: Biotechnology firm Ocugen yesterday announced that it will be holding a direct offering of 10 million shares. Following the news, the OCGN stock jumped more than 20%. For the most recent and significant price movements in markets, check out the Market Movers page.
Fed meeting starting today: The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will be holding a two-day meeting starting today, after which it will release a statement, tomorrow at 18:00 GMT.
Volatility expected for CAD: Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem will testify before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance today at 20:00 GMT, potentially generating volatility for the Canadian dollar.
Europe opens lower: The UK100 opened 13 points lower, the GER30 was down 32 points and the FRA40 opened 15 points lower
