Yahoo Finance Lucy Harley-McKeown
European markets dip and US mixed as attention turns to Nvidia earnings
Updated
The FTSE 100 and European markets fell, and Wall Street was mixed on Tuesday, as traders grapple with a fall in oil prices and continued uncertainty around when central banks will begin cutting interest rates.
Read more: Bank of England has room for three rate cuts this year, IMF suggests
By the closing bell, the FTSE (^FTSE) 0.1% lower. The DAX (^GDAXI) also lost 0.3% and the CAC (^FCHI) fell 0.8%.
Meanwhile, the pan-European STOXX 600 (^STOXX) was 0.3% lower.
In the US, the S&P 500 (^GSPC) was 0.1% higher, having slipped about 0.1% in early trade, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose 0.2%. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) was almost flat after finishing Monday at a record high.
Investors are looking to corporates for a cue in the absence of top-level economic data releases. Nvidia (NVDA) is slated to report its latest earnings on Wednesday.
The FTSE was sensitive to an update from the IMF which warned on cutting taxes as a gap in public finances nears £30bn.
The IMF's report suggests the UK budget lacks capacity for new rounds of tax cuts, predicting trouble later in the decade if spending in departments like health and public investment continues at a high rate. This could spell trouble for politicians in an election year.
Brent crude (BZ=F) futures were down around 1.1% as traders fret about a prolonged environment of high interest rates and ongoing demand.
Follow along for live updates:
LIVE COVERAGE IS OVER18 updates
Thanks for reading!
Head over to the Yahoo Finance US site for more market moving news.
- Lucy Harley-McKeown
Janet Yellen calls on EU to put a stopper on cheap Chinese exports
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has made comments calling on the EU to dial back exports of green tech like solar panels and wind turbines.
The suggestion comes as the US has moved to slap tariffs on tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles after a soon-to-be completed investigation into alleged state subsidies into the automotive industry in China.
In remarks in Frankfurt, Yellen added that western nations should look to work in a "united" way as Chinese production threatens industries in all markets.
- Lucy Harley-McKeown
Heat comes out of the precious metals market
Here's Axel Rudolph, senior market analyst at IG with the story:
"The price of gold slipped back from its Monday record high around the $2,450 per troy ounce mark while silver prices came off their 11 1/4 year highs with the copper squeeze also taking a breather. The price of zinc continues its ascent, though, while that of crude oil took a hit, even if recovering from its sharp intraday losses ahead of US API inventory data."
- Lucy Harley-McKeown
B&Q owner shares fall following results
Kingfisher shares are in the red today following its quarterly update, in which it held its guidance for the year. The firm posted improving sales in its UK and Ireland market despite a decline in “big-ticket” sales.
The company, which owns B&Q, TradePoint and Screwfix in the UK, along with European chains Castorama, Brico Dépôt and Koçtaş, reported total sales of £3.26bn for the three months to 30 April, down 0.3% on a reported basis but up 0.3% at constant currencies.
On a like-for-like basis, sales were down 0.9%, with growth in the UK and Ireland, Poland, Iberia and Romania offset by a 5.3% drop in France, which it said was "broadly in line with [a] weaker market".
Kingfisher has seen a more than 6% dip in "big ticket" items group-wide, as shaky consumer confidence continues to bite. These high-cost purchases, such as kitchens and bathrooms, account for roughly 15% of Kingfisher's total turnover.
Kingfisher said its second quarter has started in line with the underlying sales trends of the first, with group like-for-like sales down 2.5% in the three weeks to 18 May. Kingfisher expects to deliver around £120m of additional cost reductions and productivity gains this year, which will partially offset higher pay rates and technology investments.
As a result, the group is maintaining its current guidance for full year adjusted pre-tax profit of around £490m to £550m.
- Lucy Harley-McKeown
Here's what US stocks are doing at the open
- Lucy Harley-McKeown
UK manufacturing output rises, but order books look weak
The latest CBI industrial trends report has mixed news about the manufacturing sector.
The latest CBI Industrial Trends Survey found that manufacturing output volumes rose for the first time in a year and a half in the three months to May. Output is expected to rise modestly in the three months to August. #ITS pic.twitter.com/hI6oz4mzdd
— CBI Economics (@CBI_Economics) May 21, 2024
On the one hand, manufacturing output is back in growth. On the other, the data shows total order books weakened in the three months to May, with manufacturers reporting order books as “below normal”. Export order books were also seen as below normal and deteriorated relative to last month.
- Lucy Harley-McKeown
IMF says three UK rate cuts possible this year
Pedro Goncalves has the latest:
The Bank of England should cut interest rates two or possibly three times this year, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The Washington-based organisation warned over “delays” to the Bank of England cutting interest rates, suggesting that the level needs to be up to 0.75 percentage points lower by the end of the year.
To achieve this, it recommended two or three cuts to bring the current rate of 5.25% to either 4.75% or 4.5% by the end of the year.
Despite the recommendation, the IMF noted the Bank had to balance the risk of cutting too quickly before inflation is under control, against that of keeping rates too high, which could hit growth.
“Keeping Bank Rate constant as inflation and inflation expectations fall would raise ex-post real rates, which could stall or even reverse the recovery, and lead to an extended undershooting of the inflation target,” the IMF said in its Article IV report.
- Lucy Harley-McKeown
Eurozone labour costs continue to rise
Data from Livesquawk:
Eurozone Labour Costs (Y/Y) Q1 P: 4.9% (prev 3.4%)
— LiveSquawk (@LiveSquawk) May 21, 2024
This might make central bankers a little nervy.
- Lucy Harley-McKeown
Payment providers have their feet held to the fire
This morning the Payments Systems Regulator outlined plans to crack down on merchant fees. It said there was "little evidence" that the likes of Visa (V) and Mastercard (MA) could justify the rise in fees over the last few years and that there is insufficient competition in the market to stop higher prices.
Mastercard says it disagrees. It said: "The payments industry has never been more competitive, which is reflected in the wide choice of payment options available to British consumers and businesses."
- Lucy Harley-McKeown
FTSE bright spot: AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca (AZN.L) is one of the top risers in the FTSE 100 this morning, up 1.2% when much of the rest of the index is down. Our reporter Pedro Goncalves has the scoop:
AstraZeneca said it expects to deliver $80bn (£62.9bn) in total revenue by 2030 as it is poised to launch 20 new medicines.
The Anglo-Swedish drugs makers aid it would also be boosted by growth in its existing oncology, biopharmaceuticals and rare disease portfolio.
“Today AstraZeneca announces a new era of growth,” said chief executive Pascal Soriot. “The breadth of our portfolio together with continued investment in innovation supports sustained growth well past the end of the decade.”
READ MORE: Trending tickers: latest investor updates on Palo Alto, Trump Media, AstraZeneca and Kingfisher
- Lucy Harley-McKeown
Trump slumps: DJT loses 5% on latest report
Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT) lost more than $300m during the first quarter and generated very little revenue, the owner of Truth Social announced.
The company disclosed a net loss of $327.6m (£257.6m) in the first quarter of the year, with total revenue at $770,500, according to its earnings report.
Trump Media said collected $770,500 in revenue in the first quarter, largely from its “nascent advertising initiative”. That was down from $1.1m a year earlier.
The company said that it has “sufficient” cash to fund the business “for the foreseeable future.” The company listed a cash balance of $274m as of the end of March — a sum boosted by its deal to go public.
The public debut of Trump Media was a boon to Trump, who owns a nearly 65% stake, worth about $6bn.
“After an unprecedented, years-long process, we have consummated our merger and dispensed with the vast bulk of merger-related expenses, leaving the company well-capitalized and supported by a legion of retail shareholders who believe in our mission to provide a free-speech beachhead against Big Tech censorship,” Trump Media CEO Devin Nunes said in a statement.
- Lucy Harley-McKeown
Cryptocurrencies surge on ether ETF rumours
Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor has the latest:
Cryptocurrencies have been on a tear so far this week. Ether rose 13.3% on Monday amid speculation that a spot ether ETF could be approved by the US regulator. Bitcoin is also gaining ground, breaking above resistance at $70,000. After an extremely strong first quarter, bitcoin peaked in March and drifted lower afterwards.
But May has seen a return to bullish price action with gains accelerating this week, heading back towards its all-time high when the price surpassed $73k in March. A break above that level could encouraging further buying and push the cryptocurrency to fresh record highs.”
- Lucy Harley-McKeown
UK grocery prices cool in time for summer
Kantar's fresh data from the four weeks to 12 May show that grocery price inflation fell for the fifteenth month in a row to 2.4%, the lowest level since October 2021.
They say:
Grocery price inflation is gradually returning to what we would consider more normal levels. It’s now sitting only 0.8 percentage points higher than the 10-year average of 1.6% between 2012 and 2021, which is just before prices began to climb.
The long weekend, there are signs that BBQs got their first outing of the year, as the sun came out. Burger sales climbed by 13% over that weekend, while beer and wine sales shot up by 9% and 21% respectively versus the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the week before. Cheers to that!
- Lucy Harley-McKeown
This morning in Asia
Asian stock indexes finished Tuesday morning in the red, snapping a streak of green as traders looked to take profit amid a surge in commodity prices.
Bellwether material copper reached record highs on Monday, trading above $11,400. It was joined by gold, which flirted with all-time highs, and silver, which was at an 11-year high.
Japan's Nikkei (^N225) was 0.4% lower by the close, while the Hang Seng (^HSI) fell 2.1% and the SSE Composite (000001.SS) was down 0.3%.
- Lucy Harley-McKeown
So, what happened at JPM?
JPMorgan (JPM) stock slid to session lows Monday after CEO Jamie Dimon signalled his retirement is closer than previously anticipated by Wall Street.
In response to a question during the bank's investment day, Dimon said "the timetable isn’t five years anymore." He added succession plans are “well on the way."
Wall Street has long speculated who will take over once Dimon retires and when that may happen. In the past, whenever asked about his retirement, the CEO has joked, "In five years."
JPMorgan stock sank to session lows in afternoon trading. The Dow component dragged on the broader blue-chip index, which fell roughly 0.4%.
- Lucy Harley-McKeown
Looking to the US open: What's happening in premarket?
- Lucy Harley-McKeown
US stocks on Monday
US stocks tilted higher on Monday as the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) clinched a record close buoyed by shares of Nvidia (NVDA) ahead of the chipmaker's highly anticipated earnings later this week.
The broader S&P 500 (^GSPC) index rose 0.1% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) dipped below 40,000, weighed on by a drop in JPMorgan (JPM) shares. The blue-chip benchmark dropped 0.5% following a record close on Friday.
Stocks have gained as investors become more optimistic that the Federal Reserve will soon cut interest rates, despite words of caution from policymakers. Even one of Wall Street's biggest bears has lifted his forecast for the S&P 500 following record highs.
A key question for investors is whether that outlook is sustainable or whether it's getting ahead of where the Fed is headed. A key test comes on Wednesday, with the release of minutes from the Fed meeting in May, as Yahoo Finance's Josh Schafer reports.
- Lucy Harley-McKeown
Good morning!
Hello from London. Overnight we had a mixed day for the US, with the Dow lower due to pain at JP Morgan.
Coming up today:
CBI industrial trades survey
Andrew Bailey LSE lecture @ 6pm
Shell AGM
Microsoft build developer conference
Watch: JPMorgan investor day, benefits of Biden tariffs on solar: Market Domination
Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android.
