FTSE 100 ends higher as “reopening” names rally, GBP strong, bitcoin retreats

By Samuel Indyk

h2 Key Points/h2

• FTSE 100 finishes higher by 0.2% as reopening names rally
• Travel & Leisure and Aerospace & Defense strong
• GBP/USD moves above 1.4100, GBP/EUR breaks 1.1600
• Bitcoin rally continues to fade, US tech names weak
• WTI and Brent gains subside

Investing.com - The FTSE 100 ended the day in the green, lifted for a second day by companies that should benefit from a reopening of the economy. The rally comes after the UK Prime Minister Johnson sounded cautiously optimistic on Monday, with hopes that social restrictions could come to an end by June 21^st.

Companies in food retail were generally strong, SSP Group PLC (LON:SSPG) shares rallied over 15% as the company has food concessions in travel hubs and a quicker reopening of the economy should see traffic increase. Airlines also jumped with easyJet (LON:EZJ) shares up over 5% after the company said flight bookings increased 300% WoW, albeit from a low base. Tui AG NA (LON:TUIT) said there was increased demand for holidays to Greece, Turkey and Spain following yesterday’s announcement.

h2 FX/h2

GBP remains one of the best performing currencies year-to-date amid the vaccination effort. Johnson’s optimism kept the rally going and GBP/USD traded above 1.4100 for the first time since April 2018. GBP also remains strong against the EUR with GBP/EUR rallying above 1.1600 for the first time since March last year.  

h2 Commodities/h2

WTI and Brent crude futures were lower but remain close to 13-month highs as Texas thaws and refineries begin to come back online. Gold prices have remained relatively stable with the yellow metal holding above $1800/oz.

h2 Cryptocurrencies/h2

Bitcoin tumbled 10% but was off worst levels and still remains at a similar price to this time last week, despite the 2-day decline. A warning by US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen appeared to spook some investors by stating that the cryptocurrency is a highly speculative asset and warning that investors could suffer losses. On Saturday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk also cautioned on the current level of cryptocurrencies, saying that prices of bitcoin and Ethereum “seem high”.

h2 Looking ahead/h2

After market in the US, the American Petroleum Institute releases its private US oil inventory data ahead of tomorrow’s official Department of Energy data tomorrow. Elsewhere tomorrow, Bank of England MPC member Haldane is scheduled to speak, as are Fed’s Brainard and Clarida. On the data front, focus will be on German GDP and US New Home Sales.