FTSE 100 soaring while Oil slumps

Chris Beauchamp IG

Keir Starmer's departure has not held back the FTSE 100, says Chris Beauchamp, Chief Market Analyst at online trading and investing platform IG.

FTSE 100 on course for best day in two weeks

Clearly prime ministerial resignations are good for the FTSE 100. The index is enjoying that rarest of sessions at present, where it outperforms US tech stocks. This comes on a day when the pound continues to recover too, and while the FTSE 250 lags behind in the red, it has at least managed to trim its losses. The signs are now that the successor to Keir Starmer will be in power in less than a month, which at least minimises the uncertainty for investors.

Oil prices resume their fall

Oil seemed to have bottomed out at least temporarily last week, as the fragile US-Iran deal threatened to collapse. Despite a stormy weekend of talks in Switzerland and threats from the White House, it seems some progress was actually made between the two sworn enemies. Compared to recent days, passage through Hormuz seems to have returned to a more reasonable level too, giving hope for consumers that petrol prices will continue to come down.

Author

Chris Beauchamp

Chris Beauchamp has been with IG for four years, and in that time has become a regular commentator and analyst for the financial press and TV, with appearances on all the major financial channels as well as the BBC and Sky News.

GBP/USD remains in two-day highs around 1.3260

GBP/USD adds to Friday’s bounce, gathering fresh traction and flirting with the 1.3270 zone on Monday, or two-day tops. Cable’s decent advance comes despite the move higher in the Greenback and investors’ assessing of UK PM K. Starmer's resignation.

EUR/USD remains close to three-month lows near 1.1450

EUR/USD sets aside Friday’s bounce and trades with modest losses in the mid-1.1400s at the beginning of the week. The continuation of the bid bias in the US Dollar continues to weigh on spot despite improving sentiment from the geopolitical front.

Gold bounces off lows, looks to surpass $4,200

Gold regains composure and leaves behind three-consecutive daily declines on Monday, looking to regain the area above the $4,200 mark per troy ounce. Reports of progress in the latest round of US-Iran talks are helping the precious metal maintain its footing at the start of the week, although the stronger Greenback seems to limit the upside potential for now.

Breaking: Iran closes the Strait of Hormuz amid ceasefire deal violation

Iran says it is closing the Strait of Hormuz after accusing the United States (US) and Israel of violating the ceasefire. According to Iran, the decision came over the continued Israeli strikes in Lebanon. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy issued a warning to all vessels: "Do not approach the Strait of Hormuz; otherwise, your security will be jeopardized."

Is Shiba Inu dead or just in a crisis? The data behind SHIB's 95% crash

SHIB, the dog-themed meme coin that became one of the biggest success stories in crypto and turned early buyers into crypto millionaires, is facing tough times. Its price has fallen more than 32% so far this year, and it is down 95% from its all-time high in 2021. Is SHIB simply another fading meme coin, or is the market overlooking a possible recovery story?

Regime change: Inside Kevin Warsh's first move to make the Fed unreadable on purpose

The rate did not move. That was the least interesting thing about Kevin Warsh's first meeting in charge of the Fed. The FOMC held its benchmark at 3.50%-3.75% for the fourth straight meeting, exactly as priced, and then the new chair used his first press conference to dismantle the machinery the market has leaned on for a decade.