FTSE 100 finishes flat, airlines lower, GBP rallies, Ethereum above $4,000 By Investing.com

Key Points

• FTSE 100 closing price of 7125.10, -0.06%
• Airlines weigh after UK travel announcement
• GBP rallies as SNP fails to gain majority
• Oil falls despite Colonial pipeline cyber attack
• Metals prices continue to jump
• Ethereum breaches $4,000 for the first time

By Samuel Indyk

Investing.com – The FTSE 100 finished broadly unchanged Monday as a strong GBP and a fall in airlines was counteracted by a rally in mining stocks.

GBP rallied throughout the day ahead of a press conference at 17:00BST where the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce the UK is on track to unlock the economy. Separately, the Scottish Parliament elections removed the risk of a Scottish independence referendum in the near term. The Scottish National Party fell one seat short of gaining a majority in parliament and as such, the pressure on the UK government to grant the Scots an independence vote has receded somewhat.

GBP/USD jumped above 1.4100 while EUR/GBP briefly dropped below the psychological 0.8600 handle but failed to make a firm break below.

While the stronger GBP weighed on some companies that generate revenue in USD, airlines also declined after the UK announced its latest plans for international travel. Only 12 countries made it onto the government’s green list, meaning travellers returning from those countries will not have to self-isolate upon their return.

Spain, France and Italy, the three most popular destinations pre-pandemic, were all added to the amber list. Ryanair (LON:RYA), EasyJet (LON:EZJ), Wizz Air (LON:WIZZ) and IAG (LON:ICAG) all finished the session lower with the FTSE 350 Travel & Leisure sector the worst performing.

Miners had supported the FTSE 100 for the early part of trade amid another rally in metals prices with Dalian Iron Ore futures trading up 10% overnight in Singapore. Glencore (LON:GLEN), Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) and BHP Group (LON:BHPB) were still among the best performers in the index as Copper also hit a record high.

In other commodity news, an early jump in Gasoline futures fizzled out as markets digest news that the Colonial pipeline is out of action due to a cyber-attack. The pipeline carries around 2.5mln barrels per day and accounts for around 45% of the East Coast’s supply of diesel and petrol. The US government relaxed rules on fuel being transferred by road which may help alleviate some supply concerns. WTI and Brent crude futures had both also opened higher but pared some of the gains as the length of the shutdown is unclear.

Ethereum was one of the better performing major cryptocurrencies as the price surged above $4,000 for the first time to reach a high above $4,100. The cryptocurrency has hit an all-time high for the third consecutive day and continues to outperform its larger peer, Bitcoin. The world’s largest cryptocurrency was broadly flat and trades below $60,000, as it has done on every day since 18th April.