The FTSE Finish Line - August 1 - 2023
FTSE Miners Lose Their Shine Weighing On Sentiment
On Tuesday, the UK's FTSE 100 initially saw gains, but later reversed its course due to losses in mining firms outweighing the positive impact of upbeat earnings reports from HSBC, Weir Group, and Diageo. BP's shares edged higher after the company announced a dividend increase. The blue-chip FTSE 100 ended the day down 0.1%, after rising 0.2% earlier in the session, while the domestically-focused FTSE 250 midcap index fell 0.4%.
HSBC performed well, adding 2.4% and touching a four-year high, as the largest bank in Europe raised its key performance target and reported a more than two-fold surge in first-half profit. This had a positive effect on the broader banks index, which gained 1.1%.
Weir Group, an engineering firm, saw a significant jump of 4.1% to lead the FTSE 100 after raising its full-year revenue and profit guidance.
However, losses in industrial metal miners, down 1.0%, dampened overall gains as prices of most base metals declined due to a stronger US dollar. On the other hand, the beverages index performed well, adding 1.7%, with Diageo rising 1.9% after the world's largest spirits maker exceeded full-year sales forecasts. Fresnillo experienced a sharp decline of 7.2% after posting a nearly 24% slump in half-yearly core profit, which weighed on the mining sector.
Looking ahead, investors are now awaiting the Bank of England's decision on monetary policy on Thursday, with market consensus leaning towards an incoming 25 basis point interest rate hike by the central bank. Meanwhile, a survey from mortgage lender Nationwide showed British house prices fell 3.8% in annual terms in July, marking the biggest drop since July 2009.
FTSE Intraday Bullish Above Bearish below 7650
Below 7550 opens 7400
Primary support is 7400
Primary objective 7750
20 Day VWAP bullish, 5 Day VWAP bullish
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Patrick has been involved in the financial markets for well over a decade as a self-educated professional trader and money manager. Flitting between the roles of market commentator, analyst and mentor, Patrick has improved the technical skills and psychological stance of literally hundreds of traders – coaching them to become savvy market operators!