Member Article

Markets rebound as investors spot buying opportunities

Following dramatic declines on banking stocks the previous day, the FTSE opened in positive territory as Lloyds and Barclays in particular recouped some of their losses. Markets globally experienced a slight boost as investors spotted buying opportunities brought about by the recent sell off in risk assets. With commodities and notably oil performing well, the FTSE’s disproportionate exposure to Oil & Gas and Mining companies ensured it didn’t miss out on the gains. The UK’s blue chip index gained around 0.5% in early trade before pushing higher towards the market close to finish up around 0.7%.

In light of the above, Kazakhmys and Cairn Energy both added more than 3%. Johnson Matthey performed well to finish the day up 4%, after a first quarter update showed a 19% increase in adjusted pre-tax profits. With revenue historically evenly distributed between the first and second halves of the fiscal year, the company looks on track to beat full year consensus earnings.

BT was amongst the FTSE leaders after its corporate bonds were given a stable outlook and upgrade by S&P. The shares finished 2.9% higher, reacting positively to the improved credit quality ascribed to its debt which suggests reduce refinancing costs going forward. This is likely to feed through to the bottom line considering the high levels of debt in the company’s capital structure.

In Europe, the CAC 40 and DAX both gained 1.2% and Brent crude added 1.7% by the market close.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by John Dance .