It is the first meeting between the world No.1 and No.2 in the tournament's history with a winner's purse of €699,690 at stake
sports3 hours ago
At 1035 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 48.78 points, or 0.9 percent, at 5,657.03 regaining much of the prevous session’s 1.0 percent drop when fading hopes of near-term monetary stimulus from the U.S. Federal Reserve knocked sentiment.
Miners and energy stocks, which had been the main fallers on the blue chip index on Thursday, bounced back on Friday after China’s growth rate slowed for a sixth successive quarter.
The data prompted talk of possible further economic stimulus from Beijing, though it also suggested that action taken so far was beginning to stabilise the economy.
Year-on-year growth of 7.6 percent in the second quarter was a whisker above the government’s official 7.5 percent full year target and dragged the first half average down to 7.8 percent - below the 8 percent level that in previous downturns has triggered a robust response from policymakers.
“As with most China data, there is plenty for both optimists and pessimists; the former expect that China will now ease policy yet further, while the latter argue that this giant economy is still headed for a hard landing, with growth slowing markedly as the year continues,” said Chris Beauchamp, Market Analyst at IG Index.
Euro zone debt worries remained the main underlying concern for investors after Moody’s unexpectedly cut Italy’s sovereign rating by two notches overnight.
But Italy overcame an immediate market test after that downgrade, selling the top amount planned of 5.25 billion euros in bonds at an auction on Friday.
Banks, vulnerable to financial stress in the euro zone due to their holdings of sovereign debt, posted gains as investors looked to earnings from U.S. lender Wells Fargo for direction.
JPMorgan Chase & Co reported second quarter earnings and also surprised investors by restating its first quarter results. There was no immediate market reaction.
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Friday, with the reaction to the earnings data from the banking sector key for direction, along with June U.S. producer prices data due at 1230 GMT.
UBS maintained its preference for the FTSE 100 relative to the mid-cap FTSE 250, betting on blue-chips’ outperformance in a weak economic backdrop, particularly when the slowdown is concentrated in Europe and the UK, where the FTSE 250 has greater exposure.
The bank says against a low-growth, volatile backdrop it continues to favour dividends as a theme. The FTSE 100 offers a 4.4 percent dividend yield, 90 basis points higher than that on the FTSE 250, which is nearly the widest gap in 20 years.
Among the blue chip fallers, utilities were under pressure as investors’ appetite for riskier sectors such as commoditiy stocks and banks returned, with broker comment blighting some.
Scottish & Southern Energy shed 1.1 percent as Citigroup downgraded its rating to “sell” from “neutral”.
A downgrade by Barclays weighed on United Utilities, off 0.5 percent, with the broker chopping its stance to “underweight” from “equal-weight” in a European sector review.
It is the first meeting between the world No.1 and No.2 in the tournament's history with a winner's purse of €699,690 at stake
sports3 hours ago
Initiative aims at providing additional revenue stream for school transport operators
uae3 hours ago
Families of the martyrs have been presented the Medal of Duty
uae4 hours ago
This initiative underscores the UAE’s commitment to leading climate initiatives, particularly following the recent UN climate summit COP28
kt network4 hours ago
Applications for the 2024-25 academic year will open from May 20
uae4 hours ago
Heavy rains in Rio Grande do Sul state have caused rivers and lakes to hit their highest levels, killing 149 people and displacing some 538,000 others
uae4 hours ago
'Let your hands talk in the ring. I am excited … let’s make history., said the Ukrainian Usyk after the official weight-in where the Briton avoided eye-contact with his opponent
sports4 hours ago