FTSE 100 jumps, Wall St at record highs, Coinbase higher as ARK invests By Investing.com

Key Points

• FTSE 100 closing price of 6,986.00, +0.7%
• GSK jumps after Elliott Management takes stake
• Deliveroo (LON:ROO) fails to deliver after first trading update as public company
• GBP flat as FX markets trade in narrow ranges
• Bitcoin steady above $62,000

By Samuel Indyk

Investing.com – The FTSE 100 closed higher on Thursday as equity markets in Europe and the US benefitted from strong US data. Retail sales rose 9.8%, above the expected 5.9% rise, as consumers spent their stimulus checks that were given as part of Biden’s pandemic aid package.

In individual stocks news, GlaxoSmithKline (LON:GSK) shares surged to the top of the blue-chip index after the Financial Times reported that activist investor Elliott Management had taken a multibillion pound stake in the company.

Deliveroo shares fell 4% after the company provided its first trading update since becoming a public company. The food-delivery service saw its orders more than double in the first quarter with gross transaction value up 130% to £1.65bln. However, the company was cautious about their outlook as restrictions related to Covid begin to ease.

“We are mindful of the uncertain impact of the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions,” Deliveroo CEO Shu said.

Over in the US, shares in solid-state battery developer Quantumscape (NYSE:QS) fell over 8% after a short report from Scorpion Capital alleged that the company’s claims about their technology are “misleading, grossly exaggerated, or fraudulent”.

FX markets were largely quiet with the US Dollar Index marginally softer. EUR/USD traded in a narrow 37 pip range and found resistance ahead of the key 1.20 level. GBP/USD was also rangebound as markets await the next big catalyst for a move in FX markets.

WTI and Brent crude futures were relatively flat too, but Natural Gas Futures jumped after the EIA reported a smaller than expected storage build.

Bitcoin pulled back marginally from the record highs seen this week but was still holding firm above $62,000. Shares in cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) were trading higher for a second day after Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest announced they had bought almost $250mln worth of shares on the opening day.