FTSE 100 rallies, Tesco shares fall, Bitcoin jumps as Coinbase goes public By Investing.com

Key Points

• FTSE 100 closing price of 6939.91, +0.7%
• Tesco (LON:TSCO) shares fall after trading update
• Goldman, JPM and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) kick off US earnings season
• Markets await first Coinbase trade
• Oil rallies after crude drawdown

By Samuel Indyk

Investing.com – The FTSE finished Wednesday in the green amid a broad risk-on tone with miners and travel & leisure shares finishing higher.

Glencore (LON:GLEN) shares were the best performing in the blue-chip index after an upgrade pre-market by Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS). The US investment bank took Glencore’s shares from ‘neutral’ to ‘buy’. Other miners rose in sympathy and as metals prices jumped.

Shares in easyJet (LON:EZJ) were higher after the company said they were ready to ramp up operations from the end of May, as soon as the UK government gives the green light to resume international travel. The airline also said its results are likely to be slightly higher than analysts’ expectations amid a cost cutting drive throughout the winter.

Tesco shares finished the day lower after full-year results. The company reported an increase in revenue (excluding fuel) but profits fell as Covid-related costs mounted up. Some analysts had also expected the company to announce a new share repurchase programme but the company refrained from doing so at this juncture.

Banking stocks kicked off US earnings season and Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) and Wells Fargo all reported results ahead of expectations. Goldman Sachs saw its revenue more than double during the quarter as it benefits from the SPAC boom, with investment banking revenue jumping 73%.  

At the European cash equity close, US traders were still waiting for Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase to begin trading on the Nasdaq. Latest indications suggested shares were going to begin trading with a market cap of about $91bln.

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies rallied sharply ahead of Coinbase’s first trade as a public listed company.

WTI and Brent crude futures both rallied after the weekly EIA inventory data. The EIA said crude stockpiles fell almost 6 million barrels in the latest week versus expectations of a 2.9mln barrel drawdown. Distillate stockpiles also fell while gasoline inventories increased by 309,000 barrels, lower than the 786,000 barrel build expected.