British Airways parent down double digits
Similar to the US, airlines and travel names were among the hardest hit in the UK yesterday, when the FTSE 100 closed down 3.4% and the FTSE 250 was off by 4%. Renewed second wave and lockdown fears were the order of the day, with British Airways owner IAG hit particularly hard after a report detailed that the closed air corridor between the US and UK will cost the UK 32 million pounds a day by the beginning of October. IAG closed the day 12.1% down, with Rolls Royce the other double digit faller among FTSE 100 stocks.
In the FTSE 250, easyJet, Tui, Wizz Air, Trainline Plc and more all fell by more than 8%. Only five FTSE 100 stocks were in the green yesterday, with three of those major UK supermarket chains. Year-to-date, the FTSE 100 and 250 are both down a near identical 23%.
- FTSE 100: -3.4% Monday, -23% YTD
- FTSE 250: -4% Monday, -22.9% YTD
What to watch
Nike: Sports apparel giant Nike delivers its latest set of quarterly earnings today immediately after US markets close. Digital sales and the success of store reopenings will be key features of the earnings call, as will demand from China. The firm also recently took a step to stop sales to some third-party stores and focus on building its direct to consumer relationship, including investment in its digital channels. Currently, Wall Street analysts skew heavily towards a buy rating on the stock, which has returned 11% year-to-date.
Autozone: Car parts retailer Autozone also delivers its latest quarterly earnings update today, after successfully climbing out of the share price hole it dug during the broad market sell-off when the lockdown restrictions first hit. The firm sits at the center of multiple trends tied to the pandemic; while consumer footfall is down and car sales/use have plummeted, many car owners will look to keep vehicles running instead of replacing them during this period of economic uncertainty. Analysts are split between a buy and hold rating on the stock at present.
Crypto corner: World’s first bitcoin ETF to launch
Brazilian fund management firm Hashdex is working with Nasdaq to launch the world’s first bitcoin ETF on the Bermuda stock exchange, according to CoinTelegraph.
The exchange announced on 18 September it had approved the Hashdex Nasdaq Crypto Index ETF which will be issuing 13 million shares. The ETF should be available for purchase by the end of the year. Fund manager Hashdex manages four funds worth around million, some of which hold cryptoassets.
The launch of an ETF will allow investors to track the price of bitcoin without holding the underlying asset. Hashdex reportedly picked Bermuda thanks to it’s more crypto-friendly regulations. Proposals for bitcoin ETFs in the US have so far been rejected in recent years by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
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