The FTSE 350‘s had ended on an upbeat note on Friday, And that continued through Monday, as we head into Tuesday on the back of rising US stocks.
FTSE 100 and FTSE 350 gains
The FTSE 100 put on 122 points Monday to reach 7,473, for a 1.7% gain, as economic fears appear to be relaxing just a little. We’re teetering on the brink of recession, but we’re not quite officially in one yet.
The FTSE 350, which is dominated by the FTSE 100, repeated the 1.7% rise, adding 68 points to end the day at 4,145.
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US share prices edged up a little on Monday. The S&P 500 ended the day with a 1.1% gain, while the Nasdaq closed 1.3% ahead. So Tuesday could benefit from spreading transatlantic optimism.
Mike Ashley is back
Tuesday sees the return of Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group to the FTSE 100, after a slot came free. Defence firm Meggitt has been bought out by US rival Parker-Hannifin, and so leaves the top index. Frasers now fills that vacancy.
Formerly known as Sports Direct, the company fell out of the FTSE 100 back in 2016, as a result of poor trading and controversial claims over its working conditions.
The Frasers Group share price has been bucking the retail trend, gaining 28% in the past 12 months.
Company news
FTSE 250 fund manager JTC is set to deliver first-half figures. In its pre-close update, the company had spoken of “record new business growth, acquisitions integrating well and strong cash generation.” The JTC share price is down 4% in 12 months, but has been picking up in September.
Wizz Air Holdings has its AGM the same day. An airline shareholder meeting might be an interesting one to attend right now.
Ibstock shareholders, meanwhile, should check their bank balances for the arrival of their interim dividends.
Economic data
The UK unemployment rate, and US consumer price index data, should be released in the morning. They might shed some light on just how bad the economy is looking. We won’t have an update on the UK consumer price index until Wednesday.
Broker updates
Broker forecasts for the housebuilding business continue to change, so we might see movement in that sector.
Berenberg Bank has just upgraded Berkeley Group Holdings to a buy, but has downgraded Persimmon, Redrow, Crest Nicholson and Barratt Developments to holds (after Deutsche Bank upgraded Barratt to a buy last week.)
