FTSE 100 rallies after yesterday’s heavy fall
London’s FTSE 100 rebounded today, after a poor performance yesterday that saw London’s main market fall two per cent.
The FTSE 100 closed up 0.52 per cent on yesterday’s gloomy session, when tobacco stocks and fears of new variants pummelled the market, ending the day at a two per cent loss.
The blue-chip index was boosted by gains in BP, after Azerbaijan’s energy ministry said the firm’s oil output was 5.9 million tonnes in the first quarter.
The domestically-focused FTSE 250 fell a further 0.1 per cent, as new data showed UK inflation climbed to 0.7 per cent in March.
Takeaway giant Just Eat slipped to the bottom of the index following Uber Eats’ plan to foray into the German market.
Across the pond, Wall Street rebounded after a two-day fall.
Tesla and Microsoft were the biggest boosts on the S&P 500 index by early afternoon trading, while streaming service provider Netflix tumbled 7.3 per cent.
Nine of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were higher, with communication services, which houses Netflix, and the defensive utilities sectors falling. The S&P 500 technology sector gained 0.6 per cent.
“Investors feel more confident of the earnings growth prospects for technology… they would rather gravitate toward the sure thing, which right now is tech stocks,” said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research in New York.
“We’re seeing a bit of a knee-jerk snapback, short-term bounce with traders looking to take advantage of short-term weakness.”
With the first-quarter earnings season picking up pace, analysts expect profit for S&P 500 companies to jump 31.9 per cent from a year earlier, according to Refinitiv IBES data.
By early evening in the UK, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 209.36 points, or 0.62 per cent, at 34,030.66, the S&P 500 was up 23.60 points, or 0.57 per cent, at 4,158.54 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 93.98 points, or 0.68 per cent, at 13,880.25
Market movers
The morning’s biggest winner was airline group IAG, who rose 3.1 per cent, followed by Hikma Pharmaceuticals, up by 2.5 per cent.
AstraZeneca and packaging firm Mondi also rose 1.6 per cent and 1.3 per cent respectively.
Just Eat was the morning’s biggest faller, dropping by four per cent, followed by mining company Glencore’s 3.9 per cent hit.
Meanwhile, hospitality firm Whitbread and insurer Prudential both dipped by 3.8 per cent and 3.6 per cent respectively.
Around the world
Elsewhere, Asian shares and US stock futures fell on Wednesday as concerns about a resurgence of Covid cases cast doubt on the strength of global growth.
European stocks looked set for a more promising start, however, with Euro Stoxx 50 futures up 0.9 per cent.
Meanwhile, Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell by more than one per cent and Australian stocks dropped by 0.56 per cent.
The mood was better in China, where shares recouped early losses to rise by 0.3 per cent due to positive healthcare earnings.