5 February 2025
Daily market update: GSK, Novo Nordisk, automotive sector, luxury firms, SSE“A sense of calm returned to markets after the tariff-related tantrum. Wall Street recorded decent gains last night while Europe held firm this morning,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
“The elephant in the room remains China as Donald Trump has not backed down from a trade spat. Retaliation is underway and that’s led to the...
5 February 2025
Shareholders come out in force to vote on Saba proposalsRetail shareholders have come out in force to have their say on the proposals put forward by hedge fund Saba Capital to shake up seven investment trusts.
At the start of this year Saba announced shakeup plans for seven investment trusts it had built up positions in, putting forward two resolutions for customers to vote on: removing the current...
4 February 2025
Daily market update: Diageo, Palantir Technologies, Vodafone, Crest Nicholson“There are more twists and turns to the tariff situation than a theme park rollercoaster,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
“One minute we’ve got eleventh-hour deals to temporarily halt tariffs on Mexico and Canada, and the next we’ve got China flexing its muscles and showing it isn’t a pushover.
“China has hit back at tariffs...
3 February 2025
What Trump’s tariff war means for marketsFinancial markets had assumed that Trump would talk tough on tariffs and back off when he got a deal, so the US president’s plan to act first and then (perhaps) talk has come as a nasty surprise to share prices around the world, especially as Canada and Mexico have already threatened retaliation. Trump’s launch of tariffs in 2018 did raise revenues...
3 February 2025
Daily market update: Coca-Cola HBC, British American Tobacco, Imperial Brands, Haleon, Speedy Hire“The prospect of a full-blown trade war has spooked investors as they weigh up the prospect of widespread retaliation by countries on the receiving end of Donald Trump’s tariff frenzy,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
“Affected countries aren’t going to take the hit lying down and a tit-for-tat scenario is now looking real. That...
31 January 2025
Markets recover after DeepSeek jolt as Fed keeps rates on holdThe Nasdaq Composite and benchmark S&P 500 indices were knocked-off course this week by a relatively unknown Chinese AI (artificial intelligence) upstart DeepSeek, which has developed a LLM (Large Language Model) for a fraction of the cost of traditional AI models.
Semiconductor chips stocks and AI-related energy names saw heavy selling as...
31 January 2025
FTSE 100 hits new record high ahead of US inflation reading, Smiths Group unveils break-up plan, mooted production tie-up for ITV and mixed bag from Intel“The FTSE 100 marked new record highs on Friday morning, taking its cues from solid trading on Wall Street as the recovery from Monday’s DeepSeek related volatility continued,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
“Defence and energy names were among those giving the UK’s flagship index an end-of-week boost.
“Investors will be relieved...
31 January 2025
What we learned from Apple, Microsoft and Tesla’s latest resultsApple is selling products and services by the bucketload. It has set new records for revenue and earnings and has declared the final three months of 2024 to have been its best quarter ever.
The company has now beat earnings expectations for eight quarters in a row and these factors helped to drive up the share price. So far, so good – but there is...
30 January 2025
Markets calm after Fed leaves rates unchanged, BT disappoints, H&M trips up, Wizz Air hit by cost headwinds, Meta beats forecasts and Fevertree agrees Molson Coors tie-up“The FTSE 100 opened flat, following a slight pullback on Wall Street last night and a mixed showing from Asia,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
“The Federal Reserve’s decision to leave US interest rates unchanged was widely expected and that has brought some calm to the markets.
“Donald Trump isn’t happy as he is determined for US...
30 January 2025
Four UK stocks which could join Diageo and WH Smith with talk of selling brands or businessesSpeculation that Diageo might sell its Guinness brand and confirmation that WH Smith is thinking about offloading its UK high street business have got tongues wagging about which other stocks might be ready to put assets on the block.
What’s driving asset sales?Selling assets to focus on what companies do best is a logical strategy. ‘Shrink to...
30 January 2025
Why US tech stocks nosedived this weekIf you’ve been keeping an eye on the stock market this week, you might have noticed US technology stocks taking a big dive. Companies like Nvidia, Microsoft and Alphabet (Google’s parent company) saw their share prices tumble, wiping out billions of dollars in market value. What caused this? The answer lies with a Chinese AI company called DeepSeek...
29 January 2025
Markets await rates and tech results, LVMH update lacks sparkle, Dowlais merger fails to impress, WH Smith’s travel joy, ASML beats expectations, Pennon rights issue and Starbucks relief“DeepSeek’s appearance on the scene might have caused a shift in the narrative for tech stocks but it hasn’t been the catalyst for a sustained market sell-off,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
“US markets rebounded yesterday and look set to continue on the same path today ahead of two major events.
“First up is the Federal Reserve...
29 January 2025
Russ Mould: what to expect when AstraZeneca and GSK report next weekShares in both pharmaceutical companies slipped back in the final quarter of 2024.
28 January 2025
Markets stabilise after DeepSeek sell-off, Boeing shares up despite huge loss and strong Royal Caribbean update sees cruise liners rally“After yesterday’s tech mauling markets have looked a lot healthier today, with modest gains made by some of yesterday’s biggest losers including Nvidia and Microsoft,” says Danni Hewson, Head of Financial Analysis at AJ Bell.
“That’s not to say investors aren’t still deeply concerned about the amount of cash being spent on the pursuit of AI gains...
28 January 2025
US tech stocks set for rebound, Microsoft rumoured to be eyeing up TikTok, Rentokil boosted by US progress, Wickes on the comeback trail, Pets at Home rescued by vets business and Foxtons shines“Panic on Wall Street sent US tech stocks into a deep slump yesterday and prompted a big debate about whether the AI infrastructure winners will now be dethroned,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
“ Nvidia crashed by nearly 17% which sounds dramatic but only pulled the stock back to October 2024 levels. Someone who has owned Nvidia...
27 January 2025
Why investors have fallen out of love with the retail sectorIt is too early to truly quantify the full impact of the Budget-related cost pressures on the retail sector. Putting a number on the extra costs is one thing; the ways in which retailers offset the extra costs and how that affects consumer spending patterns is another.
Some retailers have adopted a cautious tone, others implied it was business as...
27 January 2025
FTSE 100 lower, challenges in WH Smith’s pursuit to sell high street arm, tech stocks fall on China AI threat, Dr. Martens slips and Ryanair hit by Boeing woes“The FTSE 100 was dragged down by the mining sector at the start of the new trading week,” says Russ Mould, AJ Bell Investment Director.
“Investors were largely keeping their powder dry ahead of the latest decision on interest rates from the Federal Reserve this week and big US economic releases on GDP, inflation and consumer confidence.
“Donald...
24 January 2025
Trump’s $500 billion Stargate AI project sends S&P 500 to new highThe week may have started quietly with markets closed for Martin Luther King Day on Monday (20 January) and the inauguration of President Trump, but the calm didn’t last.
Stocks took off with gains across the board, with all the main indices up around 3% and the S&P 500 notching up a new all-time high.
Markets were buoyed by Trump’s measured...
24 January 2025
Miners jump on metal price strength, Burberry sales fall less than expected, Severn Trent to boost dividends, Bloomsbury makes up with Amazon and The Works holds steady“Miners were the talk of the town as base metal prices strengthened. Antofagasta, Glencore, Rio Tinto and Anglo American enjoyed decent share price gains, helping to prop up the resource-heavy FTSE 100 index,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
“Copper, aluminium, lead, zinc and tin all saw higher prices amid a weaker dollar. Metals...
24 January 2025
Trump’s second term: will it be the same or different for markets?Financial markets seem to be looking back fondly upon Donald J. Trump's first four-year term in the White House and hoping for more of the same. Trump's victory in the 2016 election was initially greeted with trepidation, and the US government bond market feels less enthusiastic this time around. On the flip side equities, the dollar and Bitcoin...
23 January 2025
Tritax Big Box REIT PLC - Colin Godfrey, CEO & FounderColin Godfrey runs through the growth opportunities for Tritax Big Box REIT, along with how they generate an income and their outlook for the market.
23 January 2025
Lowland Investment Company - Laura Foll, Co-Fund ManagerLaura Foll, runs through the investment process of Lowland Investment Company and why they look to the UK for investment opportunities.
23 January 2025
FTSE 100 flat, China pushes insurers to invest in domestic stocks, Associated British Foods hit by Primark woes, Revolution Beauty stumbles and THG on track after Ingenuity spin-off“The FTSE 100’s strong start to 2025 is starting to lose some momentum despite gains in the US and China,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“The S&P 500 was in touching distance of its all-time high set early last month on investor relief that, in economic terms, Donald Trump’s bark seems to be worse than his bite.
“Markets are still in...
23 January 2025
What does it mean for stock markets if the Santa Rally failed to deliver?The so-called Santa Rally in stock markets failed to deliver in December, when the FTSE 100 fell by 1.4% and America’s S&P 500 slid by 2.5%. However, such a soggy end to one year does not mean that the new year is guaranteed to lack cheer, at least if history is any guide.
Admittedly, there is no shortage of things about which investors can worry...
22 January 2025
Netflix shares soar after blockbuster results and big plans to boost advertising incomeNetflix is the talk of Tinseltown after serving up a blockbuster quarter. Earnings smashed expectations and it delivered strong subscriber growth. It’s no wonder the shares soared on the news.
It grew fourth quarter revenue by 16% to $10.2 billion and paid memberships increased by the same percentage to 301.6 million.
Netflix has proved its success...
