Today’s highlights
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Wall Street waiting for FOMC minutes
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Crypto market mixed
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UK100 on the decline
US markets await Fed meeting minutes
Energy stocks slumped yesterday in the US following the holiday weekend, while the consumer discretionary and real estate sectors started the week in the green. The SPX500 fell 0.2% for the day, with more than a dozen stocks down by more than 4%, including energy stocks, which fell 3.2% as investors reacted to OPEC abandoning its oil production output talks. Of the major US stock indices, the NASDAQ100 led the way yesterday with a 0.4% gain, as DocuSign and Zoom Video Communications helped push the index higher, with daily gains of 3.4% and 3.1% respectively. US markets today may be impacted by the release of minutes from the latest FOMC meeting, at 18:00 GMT.
Bitcoin stays flat
The crypto market was mixed over the past 24 hours, as some top 10 cryptos were in the red, some were in the green and others were nearly flat at time of writing. Bitcoin showed little change overall since yesterday, trading above $34,500 at time of writing. Outside the top 10 cryptos, Chainlink showed impressive gains, climbing more than 7% since yesterday.
Miners, banks and oil stocks drag UK100 down
The UK100 fell yesterday, closing the day almost 1% down, as miners, banks, and oil names all fell. Several stocks lost more than 3%, including miner Antofagasta, oil giant BP, and Barclays. Online grocer Ocado was also in the red, with its share price down 4.4%. While US stock indices have pushed to new highs over the past month, the UK100 has effectively headed sideways, and still remains below its pre-pandemic level. By comparison, the SPX500 is now more than 25% ahead of where it entered the pandemic.
Other highlights
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Oil shows significant correction: After initially climbing above $76 on the lack of a decision regarding global production from OPEC and its partners yesterday, the uncertainty caught up with the market, resulting in oil prices tumbling all the way down to $72, before recovering slightly. This morning, oil prices remained in the red, trading around $73 at time of writing.
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Amazon jumps on new CEO: Amazon’s share price popped 4.7% yesterday, on Andy Jassy’s first day as CEO. The uptick came after the US Department of Defense cancelled a $10 billion cloud contract with Microsoft with reports that it is seeking proposals for an updated version of the project from both Microsoft and Amazon.
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Tata tumbled on negative outlook: Indian automotive giant Tata yesterday fell 11.8% in US markets, following an announcement from the company, saying its Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) division will see negative earnings. For the most recent and significant price movements in markets, check out the Market Movers page.
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Chip-Tech portfolio launched on eToro: The recent global chip shortage has reiterated the significance of semiconductors in the global economy. On eToro, investors can gain exposure to this market through the newly-launched Chip-Tech portfolio. Read more here.
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Popular Investor milestone: YVinvest has reached 1,000 copiers on eToro.
Earnings season continues: To follow upcoming earnings reports, go to eToro’s Earnings Reports Calendar.