eToro Daily Update 20/04/2021

Today’s highlights

Wall Street declines

Cryptos in the red

UK stocks lag

Wall Street retracts from record highs

Major US stock indices slipped from record highs to start the week, with the DJ30 down by 0.7% and the NASDAQ100 down 1%. The NASDAQ100 was the worst performer of the major US indices yesterday, but the SPX500 still suffered a 0.5% loss. Peloton Interactive brought up the back of the pack in the NASDAQ100 with a 7.3% loss for the day. Yesterday’s fall came after the US government warned owners of its $4,000 plus Tread+ machine to stop using it due to safety concerns, something that Peloton has refused to do.

Cryptos take a step back

The crypto market was mostly lower over the past 24 hours, as 9 of the top 10 cryptos were in the red at time of writing, including 3 with double-digit losses. Bitcoin was down more than 3%, hovering above $55,000, while both XRP and Bitcoin Cash were each down more than 10%.

Melrose Industries leads UK100 lower

The UK100 fell marginally yesterday, with turnaround specialist Melrose Industries being the day’s worst performer, falling 4.6%. Melrose’s drop came after reports that it plans to pay down its debts and plug a pension deficit through disposing of assets, including its US air conditioning business Nortek Air Management. At the top of the index, supermarket names enjoyed a solid day, with Sainsbury up 2.4% and Ocado Group up 2.1%.

Other highlights

New top 10 cryptos on eToro: We are delighted to introduce two new additions to our crypto selection, Chainlink (LINK) and Uniswap (UNI). Chainlink is a decentralized oracle network that aims to connect smart contracts with data from the real world. Uniswap is a popular decentralized trading protocol, known for its role in facilitating automated trading of decentralized finance (DeFi) tokens.

Asian markets mixed: While the JPN225 was in the red this morning, both the China50 and HKG50 indices climbed more than 1%.

Oil continues to climb: After finishing yesterday in the green, the black gold registered more gains this morning, trading around $64.

Tesla crash impacts stock: Electric carmaker Tesla made headlines after two men were killed in a crash involving one of its cars, reportedly without a driver at the wheel. Tesla’s share price closed 3.4% down yesterday, although it was significantly lower earlier in the day.

Apple spring event: Consumer technology giant Apple is hosting a spring event today, where it is expected to unveil new iPads, with other rumours including new AirPods and potentially some new Macs.

Juventus jumps on Super League news: Italian football club Juventus yesterday jumped 17.5% following reports that it will be part of a new 12-team European Super League. For the most recent and significant price movements in markets, check out the Market Movers page.

Volatility expected for NZD: Quarterly CPI data will be published in New Zealand tonight at 22:45 GMT, potentially generating volatility for the Kiwi dollar.