While the majority of European indices are rather muted on Wednesday, equities in London rose sharply as traders returned from extended Christmas break. UK100 jumped around 1.0% helped by commodity-linked and China-exposed stocks as Beijing eased further Covid restrictions. National Grid (NG.UK) is one of the best performers, while big miners Antofagasta (ANTO.UK) and Glencore (GLEN.UK) rose around 2.0%. UK index performed relatively well compared to European counterparts mainly thanks to commodities exposure as prices of oil and base metals accounted for strong gains following Russian aggression on Ukraine. If current sentiment prevails, the British index has a chance to finish this year in positive territory, unlike the rest of the major indices from other countries.
UK100 jumped above 7500 pts level and if buyers manage to uphold momentum, price may test this year high at 7630 pts. Also recently medium-term 50-day SMA (green line) crossed above the long-term 200-day SMA (red line). This has formed a bullish ‘golden cross’ which can at times precede a move higher. Nevertheless overall sentiment in the markets is rather gloomy, therefore another downward impulse cannot be ruled out. In this scenario, major support to watch is located around 7260 pts. Source: xStation5
