Monday saw UK markets close down following a weak start to the day on the US markets. Losses made were generally due to banking stocks. However, some of the losses were pared with gains from drug and telecommunication stocks. By close of play the FTSE 100 was slightly lower than the starting level. With positive gains in the telecommunications sector, the FTSE TechMARK index was helped into the black by almost 1%.
Tuesday saw another day for UK markets fretting over weak US markets. Despite staying in the black for most of the day the FTSE 100 still fell into the red. The culprits were again the banks. As with yesterday, the losses were small and the market only fell slightly below starting level again. Similar news to yesterday for the FTSE TechMARK which managed a gain just short of 0.5%. Both the technology and telecommunications sectors contributed.
Wednesday made it a week of losses so far for the UK. This time it was mainly down to oil stocks but banks and telecommunication stocks contributed. This time the losses were more substantial and the FTSE 100 fell almost 1% below starting level. Trading was not helped today by a bomb scare on the Brooklyn Bridge in New York. The dip in telecommunication stocks took their toll on the FTSE TechMARK, breaking the winning streak and sending the index lower by almost 2% by close of play.
Thursday saw an about turn for the FTSE 100 and it was all down to telecommunication stocks and Vodafone in particular. Bank stocks also redeemed themselves and contributed to the gains. At the close the FTSE 100 had risen by 0.5% although the FTSE TechMARK fell slightly short of its opening level, despite the positive vibes from telecoms. Good news for the UK on the retail sales front - they grew by 1.7% in April and smashed the target of 0.4%. Analysts commented that the increased rise was due to all time low interest rates encouraging consumer spending and borrowing.
Friday saw positive trading on the bank, oil and telecommunication stock fronts but losses announced by GlaxoSmithKline ploughed through and pushed the FTSE 100 into the red again, but only slightly. The FTSE TechMARK didn't manage to hold on either and closed in the red by almost 1%.