It was a stodgy session for all bar the FTSE, which benefited from its hefty clique of mining stocks.
With US-China trade talks postponed indefinitely, and covid-19 deaths the wrong side of 170,000, there was little reason for the Dow Jones to avoid a red open. Falling 0.3%, the index was put on the journey back towards 27850, the rally that defined the first half of August continuing to stall.
While the Dow dipped, the Eurozone was asleep. The DAX squeezed out a 0.1% increase, keeping it above 12900, but with the CAC failing to turn up to work, sitting unchanged at 4970.
Easily the day’s strongest index, the FTSE bested its buddies with a 0.8% increase, attempting to retake 6150 once again. It appeared that the index’s successes were linked to the latest lunge from gold. The safe haven instrument became appealing after another weekend of disappointing or downright worrying headlines, climbing 2.1% to re-cross $1990 per ounce.
And with copper also up 2%, the FTSE’s miners started the week on the front foot. Anglo American (LON:AAL) and Fresnillo (LON:FRES) led the way with 3%-plus gains, with the likes of Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) and Glencore (LON:GLEN) both jumping more than 2%.
This helped counter the latest fall from the FTSE’s beleaguered travel sector, with IAG (LON:ICAG) down 5% and Intercontinental Hotels Group (LON:IHG) slipping 2.3% as covid-19 resume their rise both in the UK and on the continent.
"Disclaimer: Spreadex provides an execution only service and the comments above do not constitute (or should not be construed as constituting) investment advice or recommendations, or a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. Any person placing trades based on their interpretations of the above comments does so entirely at their own risk. Spreadex Ltd is a financial and sports spread betting and sports fixed odds betting firm, which specialises in the personal service and credit area. Founded in 1999, Spreadex is recognised as one of the longest established spread betting firms in the industry with a strong reputation for its high level of customer service and account management.
In relation to spread betting, Spreadex Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Spread betting carries a high level of risk to your capital and can result in losses larger than your initial stake/deposit. It may not be suitable for everyone, so please ensure you fully understand the risks involved."