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The U.S. Federal Reserve’s expected interest rate decrease, which has been boosting market sentiment, helped the UK’s benchmark FTSE 100 stock index rise slightly on Thursday. JD Sports also saw gains after the sportswear retailer announced stronger quarterly sales. The FTSE 100 blue chip index increased by 0.04%. With higher Q2 revenue, UK’s JD Sports leads London’s blue-chip index. Gaining 8.9% to 139.5p, JD Sports Fashion shares hit a fresh high for the past seven months.On the FTSE 100 index, the stock has gained the most. In spite of the market’s volatility, the company reports 2.4% gain in Q2 underlying revenue. It claims that better trading this quarter was driven by its multi-brand operating model and lower comparisons with the prior year. JD Sports has maintained its range of 955-1,035 million pounds ($1.25 billion–$1.36 billion) for its adjusted pre-tax profit expectation for the entire year. Rival Frasers, the second-best performer on the FTSE 100, is up 1.8% to 859.5p. JD is down about 23% year to date as of the most recent close, while Frasers is down about 7%. The best-performing stocks were personal care, medication and grocery shares, and automotive and parts, which increased 1.2% and 1.3%, respectively. Gains in the two leading sectoral players, Unilever and Aston Martin, helped the sub-indices. The market is also keeping an eye on the much awaited Jackson Hole economic symposium, where Fed Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to appear on Friday.A rate drop in September would make sense given the dovish remarks made by other central bank officials and the evidence supporting the idea that inflation is slowing down.Conversely, heavyweight energy shares fell 0.7%, spearheading sectoral drops following a decline in oil prices due to worries about global demand. O/R Industrial metal miners and personal goods both saw 0.6% declines.A Morgan Stanley review of $1.3 trillion in assets across 280 global, international, and European active real money funds indicates that investor enthusiasm for UK equities is rising. The Q2 data supports the idea that investors seeking refuge from political unpredictability abroad are drawn to Britain because of its rising economy and relative stability. The U.S. investment bank claims that all three long-only fund types have seen an increase in positioning in UK stocks. The latest additions to the top 35 “conviction overweights” of international funds are dominated by UK stocks; of the six newcomers, five are British companies: Ferguson, 3i, Haleon, NatWest, and BAE Systems.
Technical & Trade View
FTSE Bias: Bullish Above Bearish below 8225
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