FTSE 100 LIVE: Dow set to SOAR as futures turn higher – major boost for US after chaos

Japan’s Topix index and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 both dropped 1.2 percent. South Korea’s Kospi dropped 0.9 percent, the FT has reported. “Equities were getting ahead of economic fundamentals,” said Tai Hui, chief Asia market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management. He added the rise in US infections “could also prompt concerns in Europe, as European governments are considering further opening up of borders during the summer holiday season”.

Meanwhile, futures markets tipped Wall Street’s S&P 500 to gain 0.2 per cent when trading begins later on Monday.

London’s FTSE 100 was set to fall 0.2 percent.

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FTSE 100 LIVE: Global stocks fell as coronavirus cases rose

FTSE 100 LIVE: Global stocks fell as coronavirus cases rose (Image: GETTY)

6.11pm update: European shares end choppy session higher after Wall St bounce

European shares ended a volatile session higher on Monday, lifted by strong gains on Wall Street and a rally in cyclical stocks as improving data spurred hopes of a faster economic recovery.

After hovering near flat earlier in the session, the pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.4 percent and eurozone blue-chip stocks jumped 0.9 percent.

The euro zone banks were the biggest gainers, up 3.2 percent after data showed a recovery of economic sentiment across the bloc intensified in June.

A bright start for Wall Street also lifted the mood, as talks of more stimulus helped investors to look past a spike in the global death toll from COVID-19.

5.12pm update: German yields hover near lows as COVID-19 deaths top half a million

Safe-haven German government bond yields held near the previous session’s one-month low on Monday, as deaths related to the novel coronavirus topped half a million worldwide.

While the overall COVID-19 death rate has flattened in recent weeks, health experts have expressed concerns about record numbers of new cases in countries including the United States, India and Brazil.

ING rates strategist Antoine Bouvet said: “There is a full event slate this week but, we fear, nothing that will drown out the background noise of rising COVID-19 cases.

“It looked like sentiment was defying gravity for a long time – and if there’s one thing we learnt in Europe, at some point measures have to be taken to stop the spread of the disease, and the question is whether they will damage growth.”

Germany’s 10-year bond yield, the benchmark for the euro zone, was steady at -0.476 percent, within sight of Friday’s one-month low of -0.484 percent.

LIBYA

A Libyan tribal leader has said oil output to resume (Image: GETTY)

4.12pm update: Libyan tribal leader says oil output to resume

A tribal leader in Libya’s oil-producing region on Monday indicated tribes there were ending a blockade on output and exports, saying “we opened the oil”, and have handed authority to eastern-based forces to negotiate a restart in production.

However, some other tribal leaders in the region did not take part in the issuing of the statement, which came after the National Oil Corporation said international talks were under way over a resumption in production.

3.33pm update: US Supreme Court gives president more power over consumer financial agency

The US Supreme Court on Monday handed President Donald Trump more authority over a federal agency charged with protecting consumers in the financial sector, empowering him to fire its director at will and ruling that the structure it was given by Congress violated the US Constitution.

The court, in a 5-4 decision, stopped short of the much more drastic solution of invalidating the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an agency set up in 2011 under Democratic former President Barack Obama that long has been criticized by Trump and his fellow Republicans.

The justices ruled in favor of California-based law firm Seila Law LLC, which challenged the agency’s structure after being investigated by it.

3.12pm update: US dollar erases recent losses

The US dollar has erased earlier losses. It is now at 97.48. 

us supreme court

The Supreme Court has handed President Trump increased powers (Image: GETTY)

2.45pm update: Dow Jones opens on green

After last week’s 730 point plunge, the Dow Jones has opened on green.

The US stock market has seen an increase of 0.71 percent.

The S&P 500 also opened on green with a 0.18 percent rise.

2.40pm update: Pound hits three-month low against euro

The pound has hit a three-month low against euro as the stock markets open on red.

Despite the Dow Jones likely to soar, the sterling is falling against the euro.

Rabobank’s Jane Foley told Reuters: “The pound earlier today, certainly in Asian hours, looked as it had a little bit of a boost on the back of the perception that we will have potentially strong growth on the back of that (infrastructure spending), but I think that back in European hours, the market is now a little bit more concerned about funding.”

2.15pm update: Dow Jones set to soar after Friday’s drop

The Dow Jones is expected to soar today after it plunged 730 points, or 2.8 percent on Friday.

With two days left in June, the US stock market could break its two-month winning streak.

Shares of Boeing were rising more than 3 percent in Monday’s premarket according to Reuters.

Gilead shares were also rising by more than 2 percent in the early trading hours.

Byron burger faces administration

Byron burger faces administration (Image: Getty)

1.30pm update: Byron Burger set to fall into administration

The restaurant chain is seeking a buyer as it is set to fall into administration due to COVID-19 lockdown.

According to Sky News, the chain, which employs 1,200 staff, is the latest brand to face administration after Carluccio’s and Chiquito have already gone bust.

Others such as Prezzo, Wahaca and Wasabi have hired advisers to help through the crisis.

11.30am update: McLaren Group arranges financing facility with the National Bank of Bahrain (NBB)

The British supercar manufacturer has arrange a £150m financing facility with the NBB as sales plummet due to the coronavirus outbreak.

“Final documentation has been signed and all the necessary approvals have been granted in relation to a … 150 million (pound) financing facility,” NBB said in a statement.

Bahrain sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat Holding Co is the majority shareholder in McLaren Group, with a 56 percent stake, according to Reuters.

10.24am update: BP sells petrochemicals business to Ineos for £5bn

The FTSE 250 group has sold the business to Ineos, owned by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, for £5bn as a part of reinventing the energy giant.

Bernard Looney, BP’s chief executive, said: ‘I am very grateful to our petrochemicals team for what they have achieved over the years and their commitment to BP.

“I recognise this decision will come as a surprise and we will do our best to minimise uncertainty.

“I am confident however that the businesses will thrive as part of Ineos, a global leader in petrochemicals.”

9.55am update: UK mortgage approvals hit new record low

The UK mortgage approvals have plummeted to 9,273 in May after a near-total shutdown of the real estate sector.

But British households have been able to save money and pay debts during the crisis.

Around £4.6bn has been reportedly paid back on credit cards and other unsecured loans

The Bank of England said: “The extremely weak net flows of consumer credit meant that the annual growth rate was -3.0 percent, the weakest since the series began in 1994.”

UK mortgage approvals hit record low in May

UK mortgage approvals hit record low in May (Image: Getty)

9.30am update: Markets have fallen into red again

Within the first half an hour of trading, European markets entered into green.

But now, stocks are slipping back into red.

FTSE 100 has shed 0.58 percent with the DAX dropping by 0.31 percent and the CAC 40 by 0.83 percent.

9.23am update: Construction group Kier shares jump as much as 13pc

As Prime Minister Boris Johnson prepares to announce plans for large-scale infrastructure spending once COVID-19 has passed, the construction group Kier has seen its shares jump as much as 13pc in the FTSE 250.

Other peers have also seen gains with the UK’s top blue-chip housebuilders gaining ground in the markets today.

8.45am update: European markets enter green

Since opening in red, within the first half an hour of trading, European markets have flipped into the green.

The FTSE 100 has increased by 0.18 percent, CAC 40 0.09 percent and DAX 0.58 percent.

8.08am update: FTSE 100 drops by 0.27 percent

As stock markets open, the FTSE 100 has opened in red after dropping by 0.27 percent.

The CAC 40 has also slightly dropped by 0.49 percent while the Madrid Ibex 35 also opens in red after shedding 0.31 percent.

7.45am update: European markets to open in red

Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the European markets are set to open in red as cases of the deadly virus continue to rise.

Cases in Florida saw a dramatic increase last week, with governors being forced to put the state back into lockdown.

Globally, the number of cases has surpassed 10 million.

7.20am update: Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fall

The Asian markets opened cautiously but Reuters reported the MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 1.3 percent.

Japan’s Nikkei also fell by 2.2 percent and Chinese blue chips 0.9 percent.

E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 eased 0.2 percent, while EUROSTOXX 50 futures lost 0.7 percent. FTSE futures 0.9 percent.

7am update: Steven Brown takes over from Rachel Russell

6.31am update: South Korea exports to fall for fourth month but at a slower pace, poll shows

South Korean exports likely shrunk for a fourth month but at a slower pace in June due to easing global virus lockdowns and more working days, yet a second wave of infection and Sino-U.S. tension were seen clouding near-term recovery, a poll showed on Monday.

Overseas sales were expected to decline 7.8 percent year-on-year, according to the median forecast in a Reuters poll of 12 economists. That compared with a 23.6 percent plunge in May and a 7.5% fall in preliminary data for the first 20 days of the month.

“The rate of contraction should have narrowed to a single-digit due to resumption of economic activities in some parts of the world and more working days in the month,” said Park Sung-woo, economist at DB Financial Investment.

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