The FTSE 100 index is in high spirits today, becoming one of the few European indices in the green. The index is up by 0.50%, outperforming the DAX and CAC 40 indices.
The biggest catalyst for the FTSE index is Just Eat Takeaway, the online food delivery company whose shares are up by more than 5%. This strong performance is mostly because of the firm’s strong financial performance. In a statement, the firm said that order growth in the UK jumped by 43% in the third quarter as more people continued to keep away from restaurants. In Germany, the orders rose by 47%. In a statement, the firm said:
“Order growth at Just Eat Takeaway.com further accelerated, consequently widening the gap to competitors in our key markets.”
Just Eat Takeaway has become one of the biggest tech companies in Europe with a market cap of more than £13.89 billion. It has achieved this by mergers and acquisition. Last year, Just Eat and Takeaway merged in a $10 billion deal. And this year, the combined company bought Grubhub for $7.8 billion as it tries to expand in the United States.
Just Eat share price is up by 10% in the past six months and is trading at 9,332p.
While the FTSE 100 index has risen today, the biggest concern remains on Brexit. While the EU and the UK have been talking, there has been no indication that the two sides will reach an agreement before tomorrow. October 15 is the unofficial deadline in which the two sides are supposed to reach an agreement.
A deal is important for the UK and companies in the FTSE 100 because it will reduce the pressures they are facing. It will also help them avoid tariffs when they sell products to the EU.
Rolls Royce is the biggest laggard in the FTSE 100 for the second day in a row. The shares are down by more than 4% as investors start to question the 100% gains experienced last week. IAG, the owner of British Airways is also a major laggard, followed by Whitbread, Standard Chartered, and Intercontinental Hotels. On the other hand, in addition to Just Eat Takeaway, the other top-performers in the FTSE are Bunzl, Kingfisher, DCC, and AVEVA Group.
Yesterday, I wrote that the FTSE 100 index has formed a descending channel that is shown in green. Today, the price is still at the upper side of this channel. It also remains slightly above the 25-day exponential moving averages and between the 50% and 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level.
Therefore, as I wrote, I still expect that the price will now attempt to test the lower side of the channel at ~£5600. On the flip side, a move above this resistance will vindicate bulls and see the index continue rising.
