The FTSE 100 Jumps – What to Watch This Week

The FTSE 100 jumped to 7,990 in early Monday trading on April 22, 2024, rising 1.2%, following Friday’s 0.24% rise. London’s blue-chip index closed 18.8 points higher at 7,895.85 on Friday.

EARNINGS RELEASES & ECONOMIC EVENTS

The UK economic calendar is quiet when it comes to major releases this week. However, on Monday, watch out for the CBI Business Optimism Index and CBI Industrial Trend Orders. There is also public sector net borrowing data on Tuesday and car production data on Thursday. Finally, on Friday, Gfk Consumer Confidence data will be released.  

The UK corporate diary is again extremely busy, with names such as Taylor Wimpey and Associated British Foods (ABF) reporting on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Lloyds and Reckitt Benckiser will report on Wednesday.  Further updates are expected from Sainsbury, Unilever, Travis Perkins, Persimmon, WH Smith, AstraZeneca, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, and Barclays on Thursday.

FOREX & GOLD

As of 08:13 am, the pound has risen around 0.06% to 1.2374 on Monday, after closing Friday's session down 0.57% at 1.2365. Meanwhile, the euro has climbed by 0.11%  to 1.0664 after closing Friday up 0.08% at 1.0652. 

Gold is currently at $2,357 having fallen 1.42%. On Friday last week, the yellow metal spiked during the early hours after reports of a potential further escalation in the Middle East. However, it retreated shortly after, with the situation seeming less severe than initially expected. Gold closed Friday’s session up 0.55% at $2,392.