[ad_1]
London markets were down on Monday, losing some of the gains made last week as trading volumes could potentially drop due to US vacations.
Progress in trade negotiations between the United States and China remains a concern for investors. At the same time, consumer goods company Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC jumped after publishing results.
How are the markets behaving?
The FTSE 100
UKX, -0.24%
closed down 0.4% to 7,219.47, after finishing last week with a gain of 2.3% – the largest point over three weeks and a percentage increase since July 15, 2016.
Meanwhile, the pound
GBPUSD, + 0.2405%
It's high at $ 1.2927 against $ 1.2892 late in New York on Friday.
What motivates the markets?
Trade talks between the United States and China will continue in Washington this week, fueling hopes that the two countries will soon reach an agreement. However, investors are still concerned about progress on tough issues such as Washington's dissatisfaction with China's technology and trade policies.
US markets will be closed Monday for the president's holiday.
Read: All you need to know about closing markets at Washington's birthday
Which actions were active?
Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC
RB., + 4.64%
jumped more than 5% after the consumer goods company announced a rise in its annual revenue and earnings after a "generalized growth" of key brands.
In the banking sector, Barclays PLC
BARC, -0.87%
lost 0.9% after one of its major shareholders, Tiger Global PLC, reportedly sold its $ 1 billion stake in the UK bank. It can "hardly be described as a vote of confidence until its annual results are released later this week," said Michael Hewson, Chief Market Analyst at CMC Markets in the UK.
The results of the other British banks are also expected to land this week, including the Lloyds banking group.
LLOY, -0.21%
, which lost 0.2% Monday and HSBC Holdings PLC
HSBC, + 1.01%
HSBA, -0.33%
which dropped by 0.3%.
Meanwhile, the Fresnillo PLC miners
FRES + 1.07%
gained 1% and Antofagasta PLC
ANTO, + 0.57%
added 0.5%.
UK-listed chemical company, Johnson Matthey PLC
JMAT, + 0.58%
increased by 0.6%.
Provide essential information for the US trading day. Subscribe to the free MarketWatch Need to Know newsletter. Register here.
[ad_2]
Source link