The FTSE has opened down 25 points in early trading. “It is fair to say that the FTSE hasn’t been best pleased with the pound’s performance this week.” suggests Spreadex Analyst Connor Campbell.
“Combine that with its commodity anxiety – BP and Shell are down 1.6% and 1.1% respectively despite Brent Crude lurking just under $48 per barrel – and the UK index isn’t doing too well”
“This could all change however, dependent on the state of the UK’s final first quarter GDP reading.”
“Trapped at a measly 0.2% (and that’s been rounded up from 0.18%), the figure isn’t expected to see any revision this month.”
“If it does, expect it to have some bearing on how the FTSE and pound perform across the rest of the day.”
Investors have continued to sell off the Dollar over the last 24 hours “as investors realize that central banks around the world are starting to tweak their monetary policies.” suggests ADS Securities Analyst, Konstantinos Anthis.
“Both the euro and the pound are gaining on the back of the change helped by improving finances in the Euro area and the easing of political uncertainty in the UK as PM May seems to have survived the post-elections ripples”
In stark contrast to Wednesday, US equity markets fell sharply in yesterday’s session. Accendo Markets Analyst, Mike van Dulken commented “large-cap Tech stocks resumed their sharp sell-offs, while Manufacturing names also weighed on the Dow Jones as it closed over 150 points lower.”
“Unsurprisingly, the Nasdaq composite underperformed on account of its heavy Tech weighting, while the S&P500 suffered its worst session for a month as it briefly fell below its 50-day moving average for the first time since mid-May.”
