FTSE lower in quiet trade, USD soft, cryptos steady, oil unchanged By Investing.com

Key Points

• FTSE 100 closing price of 7,027.93, -0.34%
• Amigo Holdings shares collapse as rescue plan in doubt
• Oil fluctuates ahead of Iran talks
• Strong Ifo lifts EUR; GBP & USD soft
• Cryptocurrencies steady

By Samuel Indyk

Investing.com – The FTSE 100 traded in a narrow range for much of the trading session before retreating towards the end of the day. The midcaps were also trading steady with the FTSE 250 broadly unchanged.

Greencore Group (LON:GNC) shares underperformed after the company announced a 19% decline in revenue in the first half of the year. However, despite the weak performance in the first half, the sandwich maker said adjusted operating profit will be higher than 2020 if the UK continues to ease restrictions in line with the roadmap.

Shares in Trainline (LON:TRNT) fell another 7% as markets continue to price in the news that the UK government will be setting up a competing app and website to buy rail tickets.

Amigo Holdings (LON:AMGO) shares fell by as much as 50% after the company announced that the High Court had rejected their compensation plan, putting the future of the company in doubt.

Meanwhile, reopening names such as Rank Group (LON:RNK), Cineworld (LON:CINE), Carnival (LON:CCL) (NYSE:CCL) and IAG (LON:ICAG) were near the top of the FTSE 350 as there was no news to suggest that the UK would have to delay its reopening, despite some fears the spread of the so-called ‘Indian variant’ could stunt progress.

WTI and Brent Oil Futures fluctuated between small gains and losses with all eyes on the Iranian nuclear deal amid differing noises coming out from officials. The Iranian government spokesperson Ali Rabiei said he was optimistic a deal will be reached, however, Tehran’s lead negotiator, Abbas Araqchi, said there were still important issues to be resolved.

The EUR was strong after Germany’s Ifo business climate index beat expectations. The current assessment and expectations components were also ahead of market forecasts. GBP was relatively soft and GBP/USD dropped back below 1.4200 after the CBI distributive trades survey showed retail sales softened slightly in May after the surge in April following the easing of restrictions.

Cryptocurrencies were also relatively steady with Bitcoin holding near $38,000. The world’s largest cryptocurrency has traded in a range between $30,000 and $40,000 after dropping through the $40,000 level last Wednesday. A clean break either side could be the catalyst for the next major move.

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