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“A small rally on Wall Street last night set the tone for a calmer session in Europe on Wednesday,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
“Trump’s latest meddling with the Federal Reserve had threatened to cast a dark cloud over global markets, yet investors didn’t enter the panic zone.
“The FTSE 100 advanced 0.2% to 9,280, led by oil producers Shell and BP and supported by utilities, pharma and mining stocks.
“The future direction of markets will be determined by Nvidia’s results tonight. A lot is riding on these figures given how the chip company is such a dominant name in the US stock market and a popular investor holding globally.
“Any sign of a slowdown in AI demand could see its share price pull back, and that could drag down the entire market. Nvidia has form in pulling a rabbit out of the hat with its results and it is ever the optimist, suggesting that it could sweet-talk investors even if it does deliver bad news.”
JD Sports
“A small improvement in North America and Asia Pacific like-for-like sales on a quarterly basis suggests JD Sports is still match-fit. However, deterioration in the UK and Europe means its performance is still considerably short of the athletic prowess portrayed in its product marketing.
“The figures are good enough to lift JD out of the danger zone, helped by saying full-year profit will hit market forecasts. Certain investors might have been expecting the worst so a ‘steady-as-she-goes’ update is considered a win.
“Crucial to JD’s share price performance going forward is the company’s ability to navigate the new tariff regime given the US is now one of its biggest sales regions. There is also the fact JD has adopted a cautious tone, noting that consumers are being picky with how and where they spend money. It’s clear that JD is walking a tightrope and it wouldn’t take much to knock it off course.”
National Grid
“There is a constant battle between utility companies and the energy regulator with regards to pricing and incentives. Utilities want to cover investment costs and make a nice profit on top, while the regulator prefers that they don’t feast at the expense of the end-customer. This happens on a five-year cycle and we’re bang in the middle of negotiations for the next one.
“National Grid is unhappy at the current proposals given there is a massive job in sight to expand the UK’s electricity network. It is now banging the drum to put pressure on Ofgem to tweak its proposals before the final decision is made in December.
“The rise in National Grid’s share price suggests that investors are impressed with its determination, keeping their fingers crossed for a better outcome. After all, they could benefit from bigger dividends if National Grid manages to get a more favourable structure.”
Russ Mould: Investment Director
Russ Mould is AJ Bell's Investment Director. He has a Master's degree in Modern History from the University of Oxford and more than 30 years' experience of the capital markets.
He started out at Scottish...
