Stock markets: Oil shares lift European stocks
13:30, 6 December 2021
European stocks rallied on Monday, pulled up by oil stocks, after Saudi Arabia announced price increases for January for oil exports to Asia and the US.
Investors were also considerably relieved on new opinions that the Omicron strain may not be as severe as previously thought, with mild symptoms, as scientists dig deeper.
UK stocks reflected the same sentiment, with the FTSE 100 index gaining as well, buoyed by positive sentiment spilling over from Europe, with JPMorgan upgrading Deutsche Bank and UniCredit and Germany taking extra precautions to quell the spread of the new variant.
What’s interesting today: Just Eat, Delivery Hero and Deliveroo all plunged ahead of the EU commission announcing a decision regarding gig workers later in the week. Just Eat was also affected by a market downgrade by Bernstein to “market perform”.
Stocks chart – Credit: TradingViewWhy are stocks up today?
Omicron worries ease: As more information about the new strain surfaces, investor concerns about the impact of the Covid-19 variant on global markets is starting to ease.
What is your sentiment on UK100?
- What this means: Omicron had initially caused widespread panic, with a number of countries closing their borders immediately and others banning travellers from several African countries. The high number of mutations present in the variant had also caused significant concerns about whether Omicron would be more resistant to vaccinations and whether its effects would be more severe than previous Covid-19 iterations. Thus, reassurances from several health experts that the symptoms are relatively mild have gone a long way in boosting investor confidence in the recovery of global markets.
Stock markets: key highlights
- The FTSE 100 (.UKX) index inched up 0.69% to touch 7171.6 points
- The Euro Stoxx 50 (.SX5E) index also rose 0.17% to touch 4087.2 points
- Germany’s DAX(.DAX) index edged up 0.22% to 15202.9 points
- France’s CAC 40(.PX1)index climbed up 0.42% to 6794.1 points
- The leading sectors were communications and energy, whereas retail and technology lagged behind
- US S&P 500 futures were flat at 4.557.75
Market sentiment
- The CBOE Volatility Index, or VIX (.VIX), a measure of expected fluctuations in US stocks, dropped to 29.74, as markets stabilised further
- The US dollar index dipped to $96.38
- The US 10-year bond yield index also fell to 1.402%
Top stock gainers: UK and Europe
- The best performing companies in the UK were BT Group, Berkeley Group Holdings and BP
- BT Group launched last week a new manifesto for sustainable, responsible growth in the long term
- BP recently unveiled big plans of going green in the foreseeable future, with its CEO Bernard Looney leading from the front
- The top stock gainers in Europe were Adidas, Infineon and BASF
- Adidas shares rallied as the company ventured into the metaverse and formed ties with non-fungible tokens (NFT) players
- Infineon announced last month that Jochen Hanebeck will be the new CEO
- BASF announced the sale of 25.2% of offshore wind farm HKZ to Allianz
Top stock losers: UK and Europe
- The worst performing companies in UK were Ocado Group, Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust and Darktrace
- Ocado Group recently made greater moves in technology, with a special focus on digital warehouses
- Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust shares struggled to recover after being affected by the dip in Chinese technology
- Darktrace announced a share buyback programme of approximately 4 million shares in an attempt to pull up shareholder value
- The top stock losers in Europe were ING Group, Kone and Banco Santander
- ING Group shares dipped after reporting the outcome of the EU-wide transparency exercise
- Kone shares dipped after the company recently faced increasing costs and shortages in parts
- Santander announced last month the appointment of Mike Regnier as their new CEO
Stocks news: what you need to know today
- Amigo dips after a rescue plan announcement
- Indian stocks inch lower on the back of Omicron worries
- Quantile will be purchased by London Stock Exchange for £274m
- Tavistock’s half-yearly report sees shares increase
Read more: Saudi increases cost of oil to US and Asia
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