Thursday appears to be a calm day for markets as investors look to the Bank of England to confirm how and when it will begin tapering stimulus measures.
The FTSE 100 is up by 0.048% to 7,127.30 with strength in utilities and real estate being offset by weakness in miners and consumer non-cyclicals.
“WPP was the biggest riser on the FTSE 100 thanks a resurgence in global marketing spend,” comments Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell. “Companies have been quick to ramp up advertising activity, either to remind consumers or businesses about their goods and services post-lockdowns, or because economic recovery has provided a tailwind to invest in new growth initiatives.”
“On the US markets last night, everyone was talking about Robinhood whose shares soared just days after a disappointing start to life on the stock market. The stock ended 50% higher after a very volatile session, but pre-market indicative prices for Thursday would suggest it won’t have another day of gains.”
FTSE 100 Top Movers
Mondi (2.95%), Rolls-Royce (2.88%) and WPP Group (2.19%) are leading the way on the FTSE 100 on Thursday.
At the other end, at the bottom three of the UK index is Lloyds (-2.93%), Rio Tinto (-2.34%) and Anglo American (-2.07%).
