Proposed Directors of Tirupati Graphite explain why they have requisitioned an GM. Watch the video here.

Less Ads, More Data, More Tools Register for FREE

Pin to quick picksRDSB.L Share News (RDSB)

  • There is currently no data for RDSB

Watchlists are a member only feature

Login to your account

Alerts are a premium feature

Login to your account

LONDON MARKET CLOSE: FTSE Dives, Gold Glitters After Chinese Yuan Dips

Mon, 05th Aug 2019 16:56

(Alliance News) - Investors fled risk assets on Monday as the weakening of the Chinese yuan overnight set alarm bells ringing, with markets worried the ongoing trade war between the US and China has room to escalate further still. Gold miners gleamed despite the sell-off, with traders flocking to safe haven assets in the wake of the latest US-Sino tensions. The FTSE 100 closed down 183.21 points, or 2.5%, at 7,223.85. This marked the index's worst closing price in two months.The FTSE 250 ended down 381.75 points, or 2.0%, at 18,871.42 on Monday, and the AIM All-Share closed down 14.09 points, or 1.5%, at 907.25.The Cboe UK 100 ended down 2.5% at 12,241.93, the Cboe UK 250 closed down 2.2% at 16,826.05, and the Cboe Small Companies ended 0.4% lower at 10,982.35.In European equities on Monday, the CAC 40 in Paris ended down 2.2%, while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt ended down 1.8%.Markets were rattled at the start of the week after the Chinese yuan breached the CNY7 mark against the dollar, fuelling speculation that Beijing is allowing currency depreciation to counter threatened US tariffs.Overnight, both the onshore and offshore yuan breached the CNY7.0 level against the dollar, which investors see as a key threshold in currency value.In a statement Monday morning, the People's Bank of China said the exchange rate against the US dollar had been "affected by unilateralism and trade protectionism measures and the imposition of tariff increases on China".US President Donald Trump has frequently accused China of artificially devaluing its currency in order to support its exports - charges long denied by Beijing."China dropped the price of their currency to an almost a historic low. It's called 'currency manipulation.' Are you listening Federal Reserve?" Trump tweeted on Monday, calling the currency movement a "major violation".The US president sent ripples through markets last week when he issued a threat of more tariffs just a day after US and Chinese trade negotiators revived talks aimed at ending the year-long dispute.The extra 10% duties Trump threatened to implement from September 1 would mean he has now targeted virtually all of the USD500 billion in goods America buys from China every year."The message is loud and clear. China's retaliation to Trump's additional tariffs shows that China has no intention of surrendering to the US and even goes a step further showing that China too is capable of escalating tensions. China is sounding more willing that ever to call Trump's bluff and that is unnerving traders," said Fiona Cincotta at City Index. Stocks in New York were firmly in the red at the London equities close, with the Dow Jones down 1.9%, the S&P 500 index down 2.0%, and the Nasdaq Composite sinking 2.6%.Glistening amongst the red in London on Monday were gold miners, as the price of the precious metal shot up amid the risk-off attitude. The safe haven asset was quoted at USD1,459.80 an ounce at the London equities close Monday against USD1,445.50 at the close on Friday. Earlier on Monday, gold hit a high of USD1,469.63, its best price since 2013. This led Fresnillo to surge 4.8% to top the ailing FTSE 100, while mid-cap miners such as Centamin, Hochschild Mining and Acacia Mining nabbed the top three spots in the FTSE 250, closing up 3.1%, 3.1% and 3.0% respectively. It was a less upbeat session for Brent oil, quoted at USD60.54 a barrel at the London equities close Monday from USD62.05 late Friday amid the US-China trade worries."China is a major importer of energy and the sour US-China trade relations has dented the energy market," explained David Madden at CMC Markets. This saw oil majors slump, with Royal Dutch Shell 'A' shares closing down 1.7% and 'B' shares down 1.9%, while BP shed 2.1%. Elsewhere in the FTSE 100, Marks & Spencer closed down 5.1% after the retailer concluded the purchase of half of Ocado's retail business.In February, the two FTSE 100 companies formed a 50-50 joint venture, with M&S paying Ocado GBP750.0 million for its 50% stake in the retail business.Ocado Retail will begin selling M&S products on September 1, 2020, unless its current arrangements with John Lewis & Partners-owned Waitrose terminates sooner. Over 6,500 M&S grocery products will be available to Ocado shoppers, the company said.Ocado shares closed down 4.6%.In other retail news, Tesco shares shed 1.6% after the grocer warned of job cuts amid a shake-up at its Metro and Express stores. The supermarket will be simplifying its 153 Tesco Metro stores, cutting down on processes and administrative tasks by introducing faster and simpler ways to fill shelves and storing fewer products in its back rooms so that more stock goes immediately to the shop floor.Additionally, the company will tweak the opening hours of lower-footfall Express stores and simplify stock routines.Overall, "around 4,500" workers will be let go.While HSBC Holdings's interim results were set to be the corporate news of the day, the surprise departure of Chief Executive John Flint stole the headlines. The Asia-focused lender said that Flint's day-to-day duties at the bank will end after Monday but that he will remain "available" to HSBC to assist with the transition to a new boss."In the increasingly complex and challenging global environment in which the bank operates, the board believes a change is needed to meet the challenges that we face and to capture the very significant opportunities before us," said HSBC chair Mark Tucker. HSBC's shock CEO news overshadowed its first-half results, which saw the lender report a 16% jump in pretax profit to USD12.41 billion from USD10.71 billion a year before. Group revenue rose 7.6% to USD29.37 billion from USD27.29 billion the year before.Shares in HSBC closed down 3.0%.Turning to economic news on Monday, the UK services sector put on a surprisingly resilient performance in July. IHS Markit/CIPS Services PMI Business Activity Index registered 51.4 in July, up from 50.2 in June and coming in above the no-change mark of 50 for the fourth month in a row. Consensus, as cited by FXStreet, was for a July services reading in line with the prior month. The latest figure marked a nine-month high, though IHS Markit noted that it was still "well below" the trend recorded since the recovery from the global financial crisis.The pound got a minor bump from the news, quoted at USD1.2143 at the London equities close Monday, compared to USD1.2122 at the close on Friday.The euro, meanwhile, stood at USD1.1188 at the European equities close Monday, up against USD1.1112 at the same time on Friday.This was despite the eurozone's Composite Output Index slipping to 51.5 in July from June's seven-month high of 52.2.The composite score continued to reflect substantial differences in the performances of the manufacturing and services sector. While the service sector rose at a "solid, albeit slightly slower pace", there was an accelerated fall in manufacturing output. And, in the US, growth in the services sector accelerated to signal a solid start to the second half.The Services Business Activity Index registered 53.0 in July, up from 51.5 in June and moving further above the no-change mark of 50. Any reading above 50 indicates expansion, while one below signals contraction.Service providers attributed the rise to greater new business and improved client demand, said IHS Markit. New orders rose at the quickest rate since March, with better foreign client demand leading to a rise in new export orders.In the economic calendar on Tuesday, British Retail Consortium like-for-like sales are at 0001 BST with Ireland's services PMI at 0101 BST. German factory orders are at 0700 BST and the US Redbook index at 1355 BST.In the UK corporate calendar on Tuesday, there are interim results from engine maker Rolls-Royce, Holiday Inn owner InterContinental Hotels Group, takeaway firm Domino's Pizza Group, and office workspace provider IWG.

More News
21 Apr 2020 11:04

US oil slides back into negative territory as turmoil continues

(Sharecast News) - The price of oil for May delivery slid back into negative territory on Tuesday, as modest improvements overnight receded and June contracts started to come under pressure.

Read more
20 Apr 2020 21:38

Historic rout in WTI futures amid fire sale ahead of expiry

(Sharecast News) - US crude oil futures crashed at the start of the week with the price of West Texas Intermediate falling below zero for the first time ever.

Read more
20 Apr 2020 13:00

JP Morgan stays at 'neutral' on Petrofac despite cancellation of Dalma contract

(Sharecast News) - Analysts at JP Morgan stuck to their 'neutral' recommendation for shares of Petrofac, despite news that the Abu Dhabi National Oil Corporation had cancelled the $1.5bn Engineering, Procurement and Construction for the Dalma Gas Development Project.

Read more
20 Apr 2020 12:48

Europe midday: Stocks move lower as WTI oil futures crater

(Sharecast News) - Early gains for stocks across the Continent have evaporated amid a continued slide in US oil futures and as investors continue to monitor the news-flow around the Covid-19 pandemic.

Read more
16 Apr 2020 09:03

Shell steps up net-zero emissions actions

(Sharecast News) - Royal Dutch Shell said it was stepping up its activities to become carbon neutral to respond to heightened concerns about oil companies' impact on the climate.

Read more
14 Apr 2020 13:57

US import prices drop as energy price crash like in 2008

(Sharecast News) - The cost of imported goods in the States fell sharply last month as energy prices crashed.

Read more
12 Apr 2020 21:27

OPEC+ clinches output deal, Russia and Saudi end price war

(Sharecast News) - The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its key allies managed to pull a rabbit out of the hat at the last minute - defying skeptics.

Read more
9 Apr 2020 16:57

Saudi and Russian Federation agree on oil output cuts, Journal says

(Sharecast News) - Moscow and Riyadh have reached an agreement in principle to cut their crude oil output.

Read more
5 Apr 2020 21:20

Norway may join OPEC+ in cutting output, Canada will dial into summit

(Sharecast News) - Norway may cut its oil production alongside other major producers if an agreement for a significant combined reduction can be reached.

Read more
3 Apr 2020 14:08

Brent futures jump again after report Russian firms ready to cut

(Sharecast News) - Crude oil futures extended the previous day's rally following reports that Russian oil producers were prepared to reduce their own output to help stem the rout in prices.

Read more
2 Apr 2020 16:12

Brent oil spikes higher after Trump says Russia and Saudi will cut output

(Sharecast News) - Traders in Brent crude oil endured a roller coaster-like session after the US President said Russia and Saudi had agreed to restrain their combined output, but Russian officials quickly appeared to call that into doubt, at least in part.

Read more
2 Apr 2020 15:52

FTSE 100 movers: Shell and BP pace gains as Brent surges 24%

(Sharecast News) - US President Donald Trump triggered a sharp rally in crude oil futures on Thursday after doubling-down on his optimism regarding a detente between Russia and Saudi in their oil price war.

Read more
2 Apr 2020 13:29

Europe midday: Stocks buoyed by rally in crude oil futures

(Sharecast News) - Stocks on the Continent are keeping their heads above water following the previous day's thrashing, helped by a rebound in oil futures, even as investors kept a close eye on the economic fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Read more
2 Apr 2020 13:03

Thursday broker round-up

(Sharecast News) - Unilever: Barclays upgrades to equal weight with a target price of 4,420p.

Read more
2 Apr 2020 00:18

Chinese Covid-19 statistics intentionally incomplete, US intelligence says

(Sharecast News) - US intelligence has concluded that China did not reveal the true extent of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic in the country on purpose.

Read more

Login to your account

Don't have an account? Click here to register.

Quickpicks are a member only feature

Login to your account

Don't have an account? Click here to register.