A strong pound set the tone for an important week on the UK stock market as the banks start reporting their first quarter results. NatWest and Barclays will be in focus later in the week, with investors keen to hear about future dividends.
The pound advanced 0.4% against both the US dollar at $1.3922 and the euro at €1.1515. “The flipside of a strong UK currency is that it provides a headwind for the FTSE 100 and its army of overseas earners,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
Miners did their best to lift the index, but there was too much opposition from oil stocks, consumer non-cyclicals and financials which were in negative territory. The FTSE traded flat at 6,942.
BP reports first quarter results on Tuesday and investors will want to get its view on the direction of the oil price and an update on its planned strategic shift and preparations for a net zero carbon future.
“US tech firms will also be front of mind for investors this week, with updates from Tesla, Microsoft, Facebook, Google-parent Alphabet, Apple and Amazon. There are high expectations for these companies and any disappointment could hurt their share prices hard,” Mould added.
FTSE 100 Top Movers
Rolls-Royce (4.19%), IAG (3.78%) and Evraz (2.72%) headed up the FTSE 100 during the morning session on Monday.
While at the other end, Ocado Group (-1.39%), Pershing Square Holdings (-1.38%) and London Stock Exchange, are the day’s biggest fallers so far.