Tuesday felt far removed from the jubilance seen during much of the first day of 2021 trading, a kind of weary, wary tiredness creeping over the markets.
The FTSE found itself in a curious position. The early gains it managed, gains that lifted it above 6,600, dissipated as the session went on, leaving it the wrong side of that key level. However, at the same time it failed to collapse in the way it did following previous lockdown announcements.
It suggests investors are approaching these latest measures differently, more willing to look through a bleak start to the year due to the promise of post-vaccine normality. Whether this is realistic or wise is up for debate; nevertheless it has meant the FTSE hasn’t panicked where once it might.
Another question mark hangs over the impact of Rishi Sunak’s £4.6 billion relief package for the UK’s retail and hospitality sectors. That the FTSE is worse off than it was early doors would point to a sense of disappointment in the measures, if not enough to actively tip the UK index into the red. More is set to follow in March’s budget, something that may have quelled a greater feeling of market dissent.
Despite its covid-19 complaints, the FTSE stood removed from the DAX and CAC, which tumbled 0.8% and 0.9% respectively.
It was even better off than the Dow Jones, which hovered around the 30,220 mark, unwilling to make any significant movements until it has an idea of what is going to happen in Georgia. The speed of the results will depend on the tightness of the race, with voting itself set to end at midnight GMT. Any overnight indication of whether the States is heading for a Democrat or Republican-controlled Senate could call the shots come Wednesday’s European open.
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