FTSE 100 reclaims 7,000, yields higher, oil surges, cryptos bounce By Investing.com

Key Points

• FTSE 100 closing price of 7,000.70, +1.74%
• FTSE supported by travel & leisure stocks
• Next shares jump after trading update
• Bonds, safe haven currencies fall in risk-on trade
• Oil rallies despite inventory build
• Cryptocurrencies bounce, Bitcoin back above $30K

By Samuel Indyk

Investing.com – The FTSE 100 rallied alongside other major global indices as the fears that gripped the market on Monday appeared to be short-lived. Indices tumbled at the start of the week amid a rise in Covid cases across the globe which some feared may slow the economic recovery. However, with the link between cases and hospitalisations and deaths severely weakened by the vaccine, there are hopes that the lockdowns that impacted the globe over the last 18 months may be a thing of the past.

Travel & Leisure stocks were particularly strong with cruise line operator Carnival (LON:CCL) jumping around 10% and airlines also posting solid gains. IAG (LON:ICAG), EasyJet (LON:EZJ) and Ryanair (LON:RYA) all posted strong gains, as did jet engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce (LON:RR).

Next (LON:NXT) shares jumped after a positive trading update where they lifted their profit forecast following a huge jump in sales as retail reopened. The company said full price sales increased 19% compared to the same period two years ago, versus its own forecast of just 3% growth.

WTI and Brent crude futures rallied despite an unexpected build in crude oil inventories. The EIA said that US crude stocks increased by 2.108 million barrels in the latest week versus expectations of a drawdown of 4.466 million barrels.

Crude had dropped on Monday amid the broad risk-off tone but has been supported in recent days as risk appetite improved. The fears that the spread of the Delta variant may have had a greater impact on oil demand than previously thought appear to have been forgotten.

Cryptocurrencies also benefitted from the risk-on rally and after Bitcoin bounced after hitting a one-month low in Tuesday’s session. The world’s largest cryptocurrency formed a “double-bottom” technical pattern which some have argued may signal a changing trend and could provide further upside in the near term.

Other major cryptocurrencies also rallied with Ethereum, XRP, Cardano and Dogecoin all posting solid gains.

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