11 April 2025
Markets soar after Trump walks back tariffsIf ever there was a week for the history books, this was it.
Having set out a raft of half-baked trade tariffs on 60-odd nations last week, sending stocks, Treasury bonds and the dollar into a tailspin, President Trump promptly went back on his word on 9 April and suspended most tariffs for 90 days with the exception of those on China, which were...
11 April 2025
Russ Mould: Taking a broader look at the Trump tariffsAJ Bell Investment Director, Russ Mould steps back and takes a broader look at the Trump tariffs and their effects on global markets.
11 April 2025
Daily market update: UK GDP surprises, Shein IPO, BP“It was a pleasant surprise to see UK stock markets moving higher for the second day in a row in early trading,” says Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
“When you consider that US markets fell by 3% to 4% last night on Wall Street and tariff uncertainty continues to dominate the headlines, one might have expected investors to be feeling...
10 April 2025
Daily market update: Trump tariffs, European stocks, China trade war, Tesco“If you felt a bit of a breeze around 6.30pm UK time last night it was probably the cumulative effect of countless global investors breathing a massive sigh of relief,” says AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
“News that the particularly punishing ‘reciprocal’ tariffs introduced by the Trump administration would be put on hold saw substantial...
9 April 2025
Six factors that could cause markets to rebound or fall furtherMarkets are acting like a yo-yo, slumping on the Liberation Day announcement for three trading days in a row, then jumping back and forth.
Given Trump’s unpredictability, it’s impossible to know where markets will go next. However, there are three potential factors that could trigger a rebound, and three more that could take markets even lower.
If...
9 April 2025
US shares touch ‘bear market’ territory: What this meansThe thirteenth modern-day ‘bull market’ in America’s S&P 500 may give way to the thirteenth ‘bear market,’ although the benchmark has started to try and return to safety.
Bear markets occur when a market drops over 20% from its peak price, while a bull market is the rising counterpart. The good news is that bear markets tend to be much shorter than...
9 April 2025
Investing in a ‘global index’ – where is your money really going?Investing in a global index is often viewed as a ‘catch all’ strategy. It can be a useful solution to the complexities of choosing where to invest your money, and means you can spread your eggs across different regional baskets.
Except, when it comes to many of the popular global indices, some baskets will end up much heavier than the others. In...
9 April 2025
Daily market update: European stocks, Saga, Assura“Yesterday’s fragile recovery in stocks has been shattered by renewed selling as reciprocal tariffs on what the Trump administration regards as the ‘worst offenders’ comes into effect,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“Investors had initially taken some positives from a willingness in the White House to negotiate with Japan and Israel...
8 April 2025
Is this downturn different?Market drops are nerve-wracking. The questions come quickly: why didn’t I see this coming? How much worse is it going to get? Is someone seeing something that I’m not?
And maybe, the most gnawing thought for investors, even for those who have been in the market for decades, is whether this time it’s different.
From 2002 to 2022, the market has...
8 April 2025
Daily market update: markets bounce back, gold, oil“After multiple punishing sessions, stock markets appear to have started their road to recovery,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
“Asia led the way, including a 6% advance from the Nikkei after Japan effectively jumped to the front of the queue for tariff negotiations with Donald Trump. Reports that Japan would get priority status...
7 April 2025
Daily market update: market sell-off continues, Hang Seng, Shell“It’s rare to see double-digit falls in a single day for a major stock index, yet today is one of those days that will go down in history,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
“Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dived 13.7% as investors played catch-up in pricing in tariff risks in Asia after parts of its stock market were closed last Friday...
4 April 2025
S&P 500 suffers worst week in five years | Wall Street WeekUS markets endured their worst losses since the pandemic after the Trump administration’s ‘Liberation Day’ announcement of wide-ranging tariffs (2 April) gave investors a real jolt.
It is difficult for markets to assess what the lasting impact of these changes will be at this point, particularly if they prove open to negotiation but, in the mean...
4 April 2025
Daily market update: defensive stocks, investment trusts, BP“With markets having suffered their worst week in five years, investors were hiding under their duvet on Friday hoping the pain would go away,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
“Unfortunately, the relentless selling continued, with markets falling across Asia and Europe and futures prices implying the US will do the same when...
4 April 2025
Reasons why markets fell on Trump’s tariff plan and what could happen nextFinancial markets fell around the world in response to Donald Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day” on 2 April where he imposed sweeping tariffs on countries that sell goods to the US. The tariffs range from 10% (as seen in the UK) to as high as 50%.
Markets were already weak in the run-up to Trump’s announcement in anticipation of new tariffs, yet it...
3 April 2025
Three of the most popular funds and trusts among AJ Bell InvestorsSearching through the investment universe can often leave you feeling spoiled for choice. Even once you decide on a sector, geography or asset class, you’re faced with rounds of other decisions, and a long list of funds or investment trusts that might seem like they’re doing the same thing.
There’s not a ‘right’ choice in this situation, and the...
3 April 2025
Russ Mould: Looking ahead to JD Sports & Tesco results next weekRuss Mould, discusses the upcoming financial updates from JD Sports and Tesco, analysing their performance and future outlook. He also touches on broader concerns in the retail sector and potential impacts of government policies.
3 April 2025
Daily market update: Currys, Primary Health Properties / Assura, Moonpig Currys“Electronics retailer Currys continues to impress after brushing off interest from private equity last year,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“When a company rejects a bid on valuation grounds the onus is on management to demonstrate their claims weren’t hollow. Its latest update offers further evidence that the 62p per share...
2 April 2025
Daily market update: Greencore / Bakkavor, Raspberry Pi, Topps Tiles“Liberation Day has arrived and investors are bracing themselves for a barrage of bad news,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
“European markets were down ahead of the announcement as investors fear widespread tariffs will be announced. Worst case scenario, higher tariffs could dampen economic growth.
“From the recipients’...
1 April 2025
FTSE 100 dividend growth expected to resume after nearly flat 2024Even after a wobbly start to March, the FTSE 100 continues to confound both the doubters and those who think that stock markets start and end in New York.
The index has, thus far, added to its 6% capital return and double-digit percentage total return, as the US has started to lag on the global stage.
Whether this trend continues or not remains to...
1 April 2025
Daily market update: Travis Perkins, Johnson & Johnson, Greencore“Investors are keeping their fingers crossed that Donald Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ is not as punishing as first feared,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
“The sell-off on global stock markets on Monday indicated investor concern that Trump is going to be more aggressive with tariffs and cause economic turmoil around the world.
“Marke...
31 March 2025
Daily market update: Primark, Aston Martin, Pets at Home, Wood Group“Another day, another sell-off on the markets, marking 2025 as one of the most gruelling starts to a calendar year for investors in quite a while,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
“It’s not all doom and gloom though as some parts of the world are still up year-to-date, including China, Germany and the UK.
“Donald Trump continues to...
28 March 2025
Trump's auto tariffs rattle marketsTariffs were firmly back in the spotlight this week after Donald Trump announced a 25% sales surcharge on all new cars sold in the US but not made in the US.
The new tariff comes into effect on 3 April and analysts have estimated it could increase new car prices by thousands of dollars, as well as forcing up prices of second-hand vehicles.
Shares...
28 March 2025
Daily market update: UK GDP figures, WH Smith, CoreWeave“A jump in retail sales in February and confirmation the UK economy managed to grow in the final quarter of 2024 were treated as small wins by the market. While not earth-shattering data, investors are taking any nuggets of good news they can get in the current fragile environment,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
“Both the FTSE...
27 March 2025
What to expect from ‘Liberation Day’ and unemployment reports in USARuss Mould covers upcoming corporate reports, US tariffs, labour market data, and potential Federal Reserve interest rate changes. He also discusses the latest rounds of monthly job, wage and unemployment numbers Stateside.
27 March 2025
Daily market update: auto sector, Nasdaq, Marks & Spencer, Next, H&M“The automotive industry has struck Donald Trump off their Christmas card list after he imposed 25% tariffs on cars and car parts coming into the US from April,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
“It has caused shares in auto companies to go into reverse and weighed on financial markets, with Wall Street firmly in the red last night...