The FTSE 100 has opened roughly 0.5% higher on Thursday morning following the Christmas break. This is following an overnight surge on Wall Street as the Dow Jones had a strong recovery with a 1,000 points jump.
New York’s Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 5% – 1,086 points – yesterday. This is the first time the index has increased by over 1,000 points in a single session.
The S&P 500 and NASDAQ were also up. This is following Wall Street’s poorest ever Christmas Eve performance. MasterCard’s promising retail data drove the New York rally. The rally knocked onto Japan as Nikkei increased by 4% overnight. Chinese stocks, however, were lower. French Cac 40 opened over 1% higher, but the German Dax dropped behind.
The FTSE 100 has opened roughly 0.5% higher following the Christmas break.
Mike van Dulken, Head of Research at Accendo Markets, commented on the data:
“Data suggests heavier than usual post-Christmas equity buying and rebalancing of US portfolios, likely exacerbated by recent share price declines offering more attractive entry points (oversold?) being capitalised upon while ‘normal’ trading volumes are holiday-thinned. The bounce by consumer discretionary and Tech supports this theory.”
Despite the positive open, UK retailers experienced a poor turnout at the Boxing Day sales. Indeed, the number of people visiting retailers on Boxing Day dropped for the third year in a row. The final sales boost from the festive period was not enough to end the year on a high for UK retail. Average footfall across the UK dropped 3.1%, with out of town retail parks and shopping centers suffering more than the High Street. This poor turnout and footfall may be considered an indication of a greater sector-wide crisis, spurred on by Brexit, smarter shopping habits and changing weather patterns.
The rising shares follow a shocking pre-Christmas run. Instead of seeing a “Santa rally”, they experienced a “Santa rout”.
