11 December 2018
One year after the peak, what lessons can investors draw from Bitcoin’s collapse?“It is almost a year to the day (18 Dec’ 17) since Bitcoin peaked at $18,941, for a market value of $328 billion but the euphoria of 12 months ago has long since faded. After another failed rally, Bitcoin has almost halved again since the start of September to leave the cryptocurrency at $3,493, just above where it was in August 2017, before the...
11 December 2018
Ashtead and WPP“UK markets have started to bounce back after yesterday’s Brexit calamity. The FTSE 250, which is considered the benchmark index for UK-focused companies, has nudged up 0.2% to 17,526 although that still leaves it trading well below the 21,324 year-to-date high. “The FTSE 100 achieved a stronger lift, advancing 0.7% to 6,766 off the back of gains...
10 December 2018
Interserve and Hollywood Bowl“Monday looks like the calm before the storm for the UK stock market. A flat FTSE 100 and a small dip in the FTSE 250 suggest investors are sitting on their hands until Tuesday’s big Brexit showdown in parliament. “Among FTSE 100 stocks, gold miner Randgold Resources was the biggest riser, followed by drug maker AstraZeneca. “The biggest fallers...
6 December 2018
World Investment Outlook - Chapter one: UKThe FTSE All-Share trades within barely 10% of an all-time high that it set in Spring 2018 but investors might not guess as much, given the prevailing confusion over the Brexit talks, a fragile Government and dire warnings over the economy from the Bank of England and its Governor Mark Carney.
Sterling has acted as the main Brexit shock absorber...
6 December 2018
World Investment Outlook - Chapter two: USALike him or loathe him, markets are having to listen to President Trump and keep an eye on his Twitter account for good measure (even if his heavy use of the service has done precious little to help that particular company’s wobbly profit and loss account or share price).
It is hard to believe that the mid-term elections are already behind us and...
6 December 2018
World Investment Outlook – Chapter three: JapanThe dream lives on, at least for Prime Minister (PM) Shinzō Abe. The 2019 Rugby World Cup will be but a taster for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) President, fresh from his victory in September’s party leadership contest. He has his eyes on the real political prize, which is Japan’s status as host of the 2020 Olympic Games.
If Abe can stay in...
6 December 2018
World Investment Outlook – Chapter four: AsiaIt could be argued that the Asian baby was rather thrown out with the Turkish bathwater in 2018, as a stronger dollar, weaker commodity prices and Istanbul’s foreign borrowing woes all served to weigh on emerging markets overall.
Those investors with substantial asset allocations to the Asian region will be content to ride out the storm, arguing...
6 December 2018
World Investment Outlook – Chapter five: Western EuropeSince 2012, European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi has done “whatever it takes” to keep the euro and the Eurozone’s economy on the road – but 2019 will usher in the next chapter in the story. The ECB stops adding to its QE scheme in December, and Draghi steps down next October.
Meanwhile, the impact of Brexit will (presumably) be felt...
6 December 2018
World Investment Outlook – Chapter six: Emerging MarketsThe themes which dominated in 2018 – key elections, the direction of the dollar, commodity prices and trade talks with America – are all likely to be just as influential in 2019 as Emerging Markets try to recover from a testing year.
Dollar strength, America’s hard-line stance on Iran and oil’s late-year retreat all hurt the Africa/Middle East...
6 December 2018
Defensives, DS Smith and Ted Baker“Investors are back in risk-off mode with markets falling in the UK, mainland Europe and across Asia. Markets are worried by numerous things: global economic growth, rising interest rates and the US/China trade war.
“The latter is certainly centre stage in today’s sell-off after Canadian authorities arrested the finance chief of Chinese tech firm...
5 December 2018
Stagecoach and Shire“So much for the Santa rally – the market has taken a tumble after US President Donald Trump assumed the alter ego of Tariff Man and poured cold water over hopes of a US/China trade war truce. Brexit concerns have also been thrown into the mix with ongoing doubts that UK Prime Minister Theresa May will get her Brexit deal approved in parliament...
4 December 2018
Ferguson and Travis Perkins“Markets in Europe took a step back on Tuesday following a strong start to the week. The FTSE 250 index of mid-cap companies slipped 0.2% while Germany’s Dax index dropped 0.5%. The exception was the FTSE 100 which stayed flat as gains in consumer goods stocks were offset by weakness in miners,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
Ferg...3 December 2018
McColl’s Retail and Stobart“The FTSE 100 had one of its best starts to a new trading week in a long time thanks to the new found peace between the US and China. The index was up 2.1% to 7,129 in early trading on Monday. “Mining stocks surged ahead, including Antofagasta, Evraz and Anglo American all achieving share price gains of between 6% and 7%, on hopes that there will...
30 November 2018
Miners hit by Chinese manufacturing setback / all eyes on G20“Mining stocks have taken a step back following disappointing manufacturing figures from China as the trade war with the US starts to bite,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director, AJ Bell.
“The official purchasing managers’ index for China’s manufacturing sector stalled at 50 in November, down from 50.2 in October, according to data from the...
29 November 2018
Unilever, Intu Properties and Banks“The FTSE 100 followed the direction of US markets last night by pushing ahead in early trading on Thursday. A 0.5% rise to 7,041 was also driven a mixture of banking shares rising off the back of the Bank of England’s stress tests and strength in miners and tobacco stocks. “Cautious remarks by the US Federal Reserve triggered a rally in US stocks...
28 November 2018
Brexit divides the UK stock market“The UK continues to be the most disliked region by fund managers, as shown in the most recent Bank of America Merrill Lynch fund manager survey, with professional investors underweight the region. This view is echoed by retail investors, who have been consistently selling UK funds since the EU referendum – with £10.5bn withdrawn from the funds...
28 November 2018
On The Beach and Experian“Every major market across Europe and Asia was flashing green on Wednesday, meaning that stocks were moving up. Utilities, telecoms, banks and miners helped to drive up the FTSE 100 by 0.4% to 7.042. “In the UK, all eyes will be on the Bank of England’s annual stress tests of lenders’ balance sheets with the results published at 4.30pm. On a global...
27 November 2018
Thomas Cook and Greggs“Markets were in limbo on Tuesday with the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 indices experiencing minor declines with strength in utility stocks being offset by weakness in banks and oil producers. “Interestingly investors didn’t seem troubled by a new warning from US President Donald Trump who said he is likely to go ahead with a hike on tariffs on Chinese...
26 November 2018
Cake Box“Shares in London-listed companies which generate the majority of their earnings from the UK have been given a small lift on the latest Brexit news. However, the 0.6% rise in the FTSE 250 index is by no means large enough to suggest that investors are hungry for UK equities once more after a long downbeat period. “The fact that EU leaders have...
23 November 2018
Ibstock“Market have paused for breath in parts of the world after an adventurous few weeks. The FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 barely moved on Friday morning, mirroring a similarly static performance across mainland Europe. “It was a different story in Asia where China’s Shanghai Composite index fell 2.5% as investors sounded caution ahead of next week’s G20...
22 November 2018
Why the US housing market represents a real test of Federal Reserve policy“It may – or it may not – be a coincidence that global stock markets are wobbling just as the US Federal Reserve consistently increases interest rates and withdraws Quantitative Easing. Even if there is some cause and effect here, the central bank professes not to care, given chair Jay Powell’s public assertions that it is not his job to stop...
22 November 2018
Centrica and Mothercare“Hopes have been dashed that yesterday’s rally would be the start of a new recovery. The FTSE 100 was down 0.6% to 7,010 on Thursday morning amid notable weakness in utilities, telecoms and bank stocks. It is a similar story across Europe with Germany’s DAX index down 0.4%, France’s Cac 40 index down 0.5% and Spain’s IBEX 35 index falling 0.7%....
21 November 2018
SSP, Babcock and Kingfisher“Markets across Europe pushed ahead despite carnage on Wall Street last night. Leading the charge on the FTSE 100 were the banks and mining stocks. The FTSE 100 was 0.7% ahead in early trading and was doing its best to break back through the 7,000 mark,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
SSP“The signalled departure next year of...
20 November 2018
Entertainment One and easyJet“Markets are flashing red once more, following yesterday’s disastrous day on the US markets where tech stocks were hard hit. The FTSE 100 was down 0.4% in early trading on Tuesday, dragged down by weakness in banks and miners. It now trades below 7,000 and is down 9.4% year-to-date. In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 2%,” says Russ Mould...
19 November 2018
Diploma“Investors appear to be regaining confidence after a volatile period last week with markets marching forward across the UK, mainland Europe and Asia on Monday morning. The FTSE 100 climbed 0.4% to 7,042 while the FTSE 250 advanced 0.3% to 18,647. “Oil prices continued to recover from recent weakness, putting a shine on natural resources stocks. UK...