Daily News – 10 April 2018
Investment Market Update
Asia
Asian stocks climbed higher as President Xi Jinping struck a conciliatory tone. Shares from Sydney to Hong Kong rose alongside oil and metals and Treasuries extended losses with gold and the yen.
US
US stocks rose as gains in technology shares and a softer stance by US policymakers on China trade tariffs powered a rebound from last week’s sell-off. The FANG group, comprising four closely-watched internet stocks – Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, and Alphabet Inc’s Google – were up between 1.1% and 3.4%.
UK
UK stocks in the main index closed slightly higher after spending much of the afternoon in the red. Russian steelmaker Evraz was the main casualty, down 14.5% in the wake of US sanctions against the country. Global commodities giant Glencore also fell 3.3%.
Headlines
Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated pledges to open sectors from banking to auto manufacturing in a speech that also warned against returning to a “Cold War mentality” amid trade disputes with US counterpart Donald Trump. Xi pledged a “new phase of opening up” in his keynote address to the Boao Forum for Asia, China’s answer to Davos.
The European Central Bank’s top officials lined up to express cautious confidence in the euro-area economy after a series of reports pointing to a surprisingly weak start to the year, while reiterating that they’ll move only slowly toward the end of stimulus.
Market data
| Price | 1d | YTD | 2017 | |
| UK (£) | ||||
| FTSE 100 | 7,194.75 | 0.2% | -6.4% | 7.6% |
| FTSE 250 | 19,484.35 | -0.2% | -6.0% | 14.7% |
| FTSE All Share | 3,956.84 | 0.1% | -6.3% | 9.0% |
| FTSE Small Cap | 5,637.59 | 0.0% | -4.6% | 14.9% |
| Europe (€) | ||||
| Euro Stoxx 600 | 375.30 | 0.1% | -3.6% | 7.7% |
| DAX 30 | 12,261.75 | 0.2% | -5.1% | 12.5% |
| CAC 40 | 5,263.39 | 0.1% | -0.9% | 9.3% |
| US (US$) | ||||
| S&P 500 | 2,613.16 | 0.3% | -2.3% | 19.4% |
| Dow Jones Ind | 23,979.10 | 0.2% | -3.0% | 25.1% |
| NASDAQ | 6,950.34 | 0.5% | 0.7% | 28.2% |
| Asia | ||||
| Hang Seng | 30,672.76 | 1.5% | 2.5% | 38.5% |
| Nikkei 225 | 21,819.81 | 0.7% | -4.2% | 19.1% |
| Australia 200 | 5,857.00 | 0.8% | -3.4% | 7.0% |
| MSCI AC Asia Pacific | 172.86 | 0.7% | -0.5% | 28.7% |
| World (US$) | ||||
| MSCI World (Developed) | 2,061.19 | 0.4% | -2.0% | 20.1% |
| MSCI AC World (Dev & Em) | 504.18 | 0.4% | -1.7% | 21.6% |
| MSCI Emerging Markets | 1,163.07 | 0.1% | 0.4% | 34.2% |
| MSCI AC World Value | 216.67 | 0.4% | -3.3% | 15.2% |
| MSCI AC World Growth | 276.27 | 0.4% | -0.2% | 28.3% |
| Fixed Income | ||||
| FTSE Gilts All Stocks | 3,570.12 | -0.1% | -0.5% | 3.0% |
| FTSE Index Linked All Stocks | 637.26 | -0.1% | -1.6% | 2.3% |
| ML Sterling Corporate Bonds | 393.71 | 0.0% | -1.8% | 5.7% |
| ML Global High Yield Bonds | 378.04 | 0.1% | 0.2% | 9.7% |
| Commodities (US$) | ||||
| Brent Crude Oil | 68.65 | 2.3% | 4.4% | 14.5% |
| Gold | 1,335.36 | 0.3% | 2.2% | 11.8% |
| UK Sectors | ||||
| Basic Materials | 5,797.85 | -1.1% | -8.2% | 25.0% |
| Consumer Goods and Services | 20,084.46 | -0.1% | -10.2% | 13.6% |
| Financials | 5,108.71 | 0.4% | -5.6% | 13.3% |
| Health Care | 9,583.25 | 0.0% | 0.7% | -3.7% |
| Industrials | 3,956.84 | 0.1% | -6.3% | 9.0% |
| Oil & Gas | 8,544.60 | -0.1% | -5.7% | 6.0% |
| Technology | 1,784.69 | 1.1% | -22.5% | 23.5% |
| Telecommunications | 2,922.27 | -0.1% | -13.6% | 0.1% |
| Utilities | 6,995.40 | 0.7% | -4.6% | -14.8% |
| Currencies | ||||
| $ per £ | 1.41 | -0.3% | 4.3% | 9.5% |
| € per £ | 1.15 | 0.0% | 1.9% | -4.0% |
| ¥ per £ | 150.65 | -0.3% | -1.0% | 5.3% |
| Indicators | ||||
| VIX Index (Volatility) | 21.77 | 1.3% | 97.2% | -21.4% |
| Baltic Dry Index | 952.00 | 0.4% | -30.3% | 42.1% |