London’s FTSE 100 ended last week’s session flat, weighed down by energy and banking stocks as rising crude prices and concerns over the Delta variant of Covid-19 continued to worry investors.
However, the losses were capped by gains in mining and residential construction stocks.
The blue chip index finished just 1.8 points at 7123, after gaining as much as 0.52% in intraday trading. The domestically-focused mid-cap index added 0.6 percent.
Bank stocks were the main drivers of the index, with Standard Chartered Bank 2.4%, Natwest 2.2%, Barclays and Lloyds banking 1.7% and HSBC 1.6% down.
Energy stocks also fell 0.8%, as oil majors BP and Royal Dutch Shell fell 1% and 0.8% respectively, following the drop in crude.
Miners jumped 0.9% and were the main winners, with Polymetal International gaining 2.3% and Anglo American gaining 2%.
Homebuilders gained 0.3% and were among the index’s biggest gains this week, up 1.94% as buyers rushed to take advantage of the stamp duty holiday that begins to decrease from the beginning of July.
Jefferies maintained his bullish stance on UK homebuilders on Friday, pushing Barratt Developments and Bellway to “buy” from “hold”.
“The homebuilding sector remains a favorite with investors, despite the start of stamp duty cuts in England and Northern Ireland,” Russ Mold, chief investment officer at AJ Bell, told the Reuters news agency.
“Basically there is still a serious housing shortage in the UK so maybe investors think home builders can easily sell every property they build.”
Meanwhile, in the United States, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit record highs again on Friday, as strong monthly wage data boosted confidence in a labor market recovery.
The S&P 500 closed 1.75% higher, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished flat. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.4%.
The Department of Labor’s closely watched employment report showed non-farm payrolls grew more than expected in June, with companies raising wages and providing incentives to attract millions of unemployed Americans.
The unemployment rate hit 5.9% last month from 5.8% in May.
Asian markets rose to open on Monday after a positive trading session in the US last week, however, higher oil prices pushed indexes lower. Japan’s Nikkei traded 0.6 percent less. Hang Seng is down 0.4% around noon, while Shanghai Composite is flat.
Indian indices opened higher on Monday following positive global indices. Sensex opens 200 more points, Nifty above 15,750.
Additional Reuters Reports
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Source: www.independent.co.uk
This notice was published: 2021-07-05 05:00:54
