FTSE Swoons On The First Trading Day Of June -

FTSE Swoons On The First Trading Day Of June

Jun 03, 2024Jeremy ParkinsonFinance, No picture0

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On Monday, London stocks initially increased, following the trend of Asian markets, in anticipation of the upcoming rate cut by the European Central Bank later this week. However, gains were reversed, trading down 0.5%,as the performance of drugmaker GSK weighed on investor sentiment.GSK’s stock fell to the bottom of the FTSE 100 following a US ruling that allows Zantac lawsuits to proceed. GSK shares plummeted by as much as 9.5%, making it the top loser on the FTSE 100 index. A Delaware judge’s decision on Friday permitted over 70,000 lawsuits related to the discontinued heartburn drug Zantac to move forward, allowing witnesses to testify about the potential link between the drug and cancer. GSK has stated that it will immediately seek an appeal as it disagrees with the ruling, arguing that it is not consistent with the Federal Court’s Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) ruling under the same legal standard. Despite this setback, the stock has seen a 31.2% increase in the last twelve months as of the last close.On the positive side of the ledger St. James’s Place, a British wealth manager, has seen a 5.3% rise in its stock to 526p, making it one of the top percentage gainers on the FTSE 100 index. JPMorgan has upgraded its rating on the company to “overweight” from “neutral” and increased its target price to 730p from 637p. This has led to St. James’s Place shares reaching their highest level since Feb 29. Despite this positive movement, the shares are still down 23% year-to-date.Frasers Group was in the green on the day, as Mike Ashley’s firm reported a profit and disclosed the addition of Sir Jon Thompson, former CEO of the Financial Reporting Council, as a non-executive director. Thompson has previously held leadership roles at HS2, HMRC, and the Ministry of Defence, overseeing significant projects.OPEC+ extended deep oil output cuts until the end of 2025, totaling 5.86 million barrels per day. Analysts believe this agreement may have a bearish effect on crude prices, with risks skewed to the downside despite reducing the probability of a price war. The UAE was also allowed to increase production by 300,000 barrels a day next year,this production increase led to weakness in Shell & BP.
FTSE Bias: Bullish Above Bearish below 8365