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| UK 100 Leaders | Close (p) | Chg (p) | % Chg | % YTD |
| AstraZeneca PLC | 4411.5 | 126.5 | 3.0 | 0.0 |
| Schroders PLC | 2392 | 62.0 | 2.7 | 0.0 |
| Hargreaves Lansdown PLC | 1133 | 24.0 | 2.2 | 0.0 |
| CRH PLC | 1401 | 28.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
| Barratt Developments PLC | 366.2 | 6.6 | 1.8 | 0.0 |
| Smith & Nephew PLC | 1064 | 17.0 | 1.6 | 0.0 |
| 3i Group PLC | 387.6 | 6.0 | 1.6 | 0.0 |
| Standard Life PLC | 376.9 | 5.5 | 1.5 | 0.0 |
| UK 100 Laggards | Close (p) | Chg (p) | % Chg | % YTD |
| Fresnillo PLC | 938 | -34.5 | -3.6 | 0.0 |
| Randgold Resources Ltd | 4904 | -93.0 | -1.9 | 0.0 |
| Kingfisher PLC | 306.8 | -5.2 | -1.7 | 0.0 |
| Anglo American PLC | 1573.5 | -20.5 | -1.3 | 0.0 |
| Antofagasta PLC | 808.5 | -10.5 | -1.3 | 0.0 |
| Royal Mail Group PLC | 440.3 | -5.4 | -1.2 | 0.0 |
| Petrofac Ltd | 1126 | -13.0 | -1.1 | 0.0 |
| easyJet PLC | 1324 | -15.0 | -1.1 | 0.0 |
| Major World Indices | Mid/Close | Chg | % Chg | % YTD |
| UK UK 100 | 6,777.7 | 22.2 | 0.33 | 0.4 |
| UK | 15,838.6 | 89.7 | 0.57 | -0.6 |
| FR CAC 40 | 4,292.9 | 52.1 | 1.23 | -0.1 |
| DE DAX 30 | 9,401.5 | 87.0 | 0.93 | -1.6 |
| US DJ Industrial Average 30 | 17,039.5 | 60.4 | 0.36 | 2.8 |
| US Nasdaq Composite 100 | 4,532.1 | 5.6 | 0.12 | 8.5 |
| US S&P 500 | 1,992.4 | 5.9 | 0.29 | 7.8 |
| JP Nikkei 225 | 15,556.1 | -30.1 | -0.19 | -4.5 |
| HK Hang Seng Index 48 | 25,088.0 | 93.9 | 0.38 | 7.6 |
| AU S&P/ASX 200 | 5,646.4 | 7.5 | 0.13 | 5.5 |
| Commodities & FX | Mid/Close | Chg | % Chg | % YTD |
| Crude Oil, US Light Sweet ($/barrel) | 93.86 | -0.08 | -0.08 | -4.8 |
| Crude Oil, Brent ($/barrel) | 102.67 | 0.51 | 0.5 | -7.8 |
| Gold ($/oz) | 1281.05 | 2.55 | 0.2 | 6.1 |
| Silver ($/oz) | 19.53 | 0.09 | 0.48 | 0.1 |
| Platinum ($/oz) | 1422.50 | -6.00 | -0.42 | 3.5 |
| GBP/USD – US$ per £ | 1.658 | – | 0.03 | 0.2 |
| EUR/USD – US$ per € | 1.329 | – | 0.09 | -3.4 |
| GBP/EUR – € per £ | 1.248 | – | -0.06 | 3.6 |
Click graph to enlarge
UK 100 Index is called to open higher by 3pts at 6777, having added 22pts yesterday making it six winning days out of seven.
Traders piled in to AstraZeneca (AZN.L) pushing the share price up 2.95% on the day and over 7% for the week, after Bloomberg reminded the market Pfizer could make steps towards a renewed bid as of the 26th August. The US drug giant failed to acquire AstraZeneca back in May after the company rejected an offer of 5500p per share.
Since then Shire (SHP) has been acquired by AbbVie leaving GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L) and AstraZeneca (AZN.L) the only major UK drug makers to offer US peers a tax efficient HQ.
House builders and related stocks enjoyed a rebound with CRH (CRH.L) advancing 2.04%, Barratt Developments (BDEV.L) up 1.84% and Persimmon (PSN.L) added 1.36% as those who 'buy on dips' did exactly that.
The decliners came in the form of commodity stocks. A stronger dollar pushed the price of gold down to sub-$1280, knocking Fresnillo (FRES.L) by 3.55% and Randgold Resources (RRS.L) by 1.86%.
Disappointing Chinese PMI data ensured those that mine industrial metals were also punished. Anglo American (AAL.L), Antofagasta (ANTO.L) and Rio Tinto (RIO.L) shed as much as 1.30%.
US Markets followed Europe's lead, while economic reports covering housing and manufacturing showed the world's largest economy is strengthening.
The Dow Jones added 60pts to get over the 17,000 level once again while the S&P 500 reached 1,994.76, the highest level ever.
Asian Markets gained as a result, the MSCI Asia Pacific Index capped a two week advance to close within 1% of a six year high.
All eyes should be on the Jackson Hole Symposium this afternoon. Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen is due to speak at 15:00 GMT followed by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi ay 19:30.
In commodities, gold traded near two-month lows having hit $1273 on speculation that interest rates are set to increase. Silver headed for a sixth week of losses in its longest losing slump this year. With Yellen scheduled to speak from Jackson Hole today this will create additional volatility in the commodities. WTI was trading at $93.50 a barrel on course for a fifth weekly decline and its longest losing streak in nine months, whilst Bret stayed steady at $102.50.
In FX, the dollar retreated slightly from 11-month highs against the euro ahead of Yellen’s comments.
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Accendo Markets considers opinions and information contained within the research to be valid when published, and gives no warranty as to the investments referred to in this material. The income from the investments referred to may go down as well as up, and investors may realise losses on investments. The past performance of a particular investment is not necessarily a guide to its future performance. Prepared by Michael van Dulken, Head of Research