Afternoon Market Comment
After a bit of a lunchtime wobble the FTSE is on track for yet another record close, with the index boosted by Brent Crude’s continued recovery and a slide from sterling.
Once again the FTSE shuffled rather than soared to its latest all-time high – yet, much like the Dow Jones at points during 2017, a new high is a new high, however slight the increase. BP (LON:BP) and Shell's (LON:RDSb) glee at Brent Crude crossing $69 per barrel for the first time in over 3 years, alongside the pound’s problems against the dollar and the euro, helped the FTSE on its way, as did the gains posted by Sainsbury's (LON:SBRY) and Marks and Spencer (LON:MKS) (the latter of which reports tomorrow).
With the euro back in fighting mode after 2 days on the ropes, climbing more than half a percent against both dollar and pound, the eurozone indices suffered a severe hump day slump. The DAX dropped 130 points, leaving the index barely above 13250, while the CAC fell 0.5%, slipping beneath 5500.
Taking its cue from the eurozone rather than the UK, the Dow Jones dipped 60 points after the bell, keeping it trapped around the 25250 to 25350 band it has found itself in for the last few sessions. There’s a chance the Dow might be going through another one of its holdings periods, as the initial buzz of the New Year fades and the index searches for its next macro-arrow – though, it has to be said, multiple times in 2017 it looked like the Dow had stalled, only for it to resume its record climb a few days (or weeks) later.
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