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The FTSE 100 is expected to make a tentative start on Tuesday as investors continue to fret about rising coronavirus cases and the effects of restrictions, such as Britain’s worst retail sales figures in 25 years.
London’s blue chip index was called six points higher by spread-betting broker CMC Markets a day after it dropped almost 75 points or 1.1% to finish at 6,798.48.
UK retail sales in 2020, released by the British Retail Consortium (BRC), fell 0.3%, the biggest decline since records began in 1995, as the effect of lockdowns on non-essential shops outweighed a switch to online spending. December sales, however, were up 1.8% on the year before, up from 0.9% in November.
Overnight, Wall Street joined in Europe’s selling session, with the Dow Jones slipping 89 points or 0.3% to 31,008.69, down for the second trading day in succession.
The broader S&P 500 fell 0.7% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite tumbled 1.25%, with all the FAANG stocks in the red.
This was partly due to fears that big tech companies, in particular social media firms, could come under tougher regulation, said market analyst David Madden at CMC Markets.
“President Trump’s Twitter and Facebook accounts have been suspended because of allegations that his comments sparked the riot in the Capitol building last week. People have been questioning the role of the social media firms in light of the incident, so the groups have found themselves under extra scrutiny.”
6.45 am: Early Markets: Asia / Australia
Stocks in Asia-Pacific were mixed today after shares on Wall Street retreated on Monday from all-time highs.
In China, the Shanghai composite surged 1.59% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index advanced 0.85%.
South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.91% while Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.09%.
Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.27%.
Proactive Australia news:
White Rock Minerals Ltd (ASX:WRM) (OTCMKTS:WRMCF) is setting its sights on a game-changing 2021 as it focuses on the highly prospective Last Chance Gold Target in the Tintina region of Alaska.
Fe Limited (ASX:FEL) (FRA:B4T) is aiming to begin shipping iron ore product in the second quarter of 2021, according to the company’s latest timelines for its flagship JWD West Wiluna project.
Astro Resources NL (ASX:ARO) has acquired a detailed dataset of historic drilling and surface exploration for the Needles Gold Project in Nevada.
Twenty Seven Co Ltd (ASX:TSC) (FRA:U9V) has discovered the largest and highest magnitude gold soil anomalies defined to date at its Rover Gold Project following recent soil sampling.
Red River Resources Ltd (ASX:RVR) (FRA:R1R) has recorded a transformative December quarter, kicking off production at its Hillgrove Gold Mine in northern New South Wales, with the first ore processed through the plant on December 29, 2020.
YPB Group Limited (ASX:YPB) has secured a three-year take-or-pay contract with China’s Zhongneng CIC International Import and Export Trade Co Ltd valued at around A$600,000 for the use of the T2 Tracer-Scanner product.
Moho Resources Ltd (ASX:MOH) has received additional and ‘unexpected’ high-grade gold assay results from recently completed diamond drilling at the East Sampson Dam (ESD) gold prospect within the Silver Swan North Project in WA’s Goldfields region.
Creso Pharma Ltd (ASX:CPH) (FRA:1X8) (OTCMKTS:COPHF) has completed all required importing and exporting procedures and successfully delivered the second shipment of cannaQIX® products to Lupin International Ltd’s (NYSE:LUPIN) subsidiary, Pharma Dynamics South Africa.
Piedmont Lithium Ltd (ASX:PLL) (NASDAQ:PLL) (OTCMKTS:PDDTF) is progressing towards construction of its planned 22,700 tonnes per annum lithium hydroxide chemical plant at Kings Mountain in North Carolina, USA.
Legend Mining Limited’s (ASX:LEG) assay results from diamond drill hole RKDD034 confirm that it is the best hole to date at Mawson prospect within the Rockford project on Western Australia’s Fraser Range.
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