2 August 2024
Interest rates have been cut: here’s what you need to knowThe Bank of England has voted to cut interest rates for the first time in four years, meaning the country’s official rate has fallen from 5.25% to 5%. The Monetary Policy Committee, which makes the decision, saw five members vote for a cut and four vote to keep rates unchanged – making it a tight vote.
What does this mean for future interest rates...
2 August 2024
Favourite funds update - August 2024The AJ Bell Favourite funds list is designed to lighten your research load. There are thousands of funds out there – so we’ve narrowed the field by selecting a high-quality shortlist of funds we believe can deliver their objectives over the long term. To make the list, each fund needs to pass our robust, independent selection process.
What have we...
1 August 2024
Bank of England rate cut boost short-lived as pressure builds on Apple and Amazon to deliver“London markets finally got the rate cut they’ve been anticipating from the Bank of England, only to end up back in the same old expectation cycle,” says AJ Bell head of Financial Analysis Danni Hewson.
“Whilst shares on the more domestically-focused FTSE 250 enjoyed an initial bang the noise was muted somewhat as Bank governor Andrew Bailey...
1 August 2024
What to expect from three interest-rate sensitive UK stocks reporting next weekLegal & General, Persimmon and Derwent London are all exposed to decisions by the Bank of England.
1 August 2024
All eyes on UK rate decision, Rolls-Royce to reinstate dividends, Next beats again and Wizz Air dives on profit slump“‘Will they, won’t they?’ discussions have once again become the topic of conversation for investors after the Federal Reserve set the scene for a potential interest rate cut in September and the Bank of England announces its latest decision at lunchtime today,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
“The Fed leaving rates unchanged...
1 August 2024
HSBC’s bumper cash returns mean FTSE 100 buyback boom continues“The debate over the rights and wrongs of the bumper profits made by banking giant HSBC will run and run but from the narrow perspective of investment its announcement of a new, $3 billion share buyback scheme means that the FTSE 100 cash return bonanza continues,” says AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
“Dividends, takeovers and buybacks...
31 July 2024
Making sense of the tech sector sell-off: why shares in Microsoft, Nvidia & other AI enablers have pulled backInvestors are increasingly nervous about the tech sector and it only takes one small bit of bad news from a major player to increase anxiety levels across the market.
Another sell-off involving the stocks that have contributed to much of the US market’s gains in recent years was compounded by Microsoft’s cloud computing business failing to meet...
31 July 2024
What to expect in October’s Budget following the Chancellor’s public finance updateThe Chancellor has signaled to the public that tax rises are extremely likely at the Budget on 30 October, pointing to what she claims is a £20 billion black hold in the public finances.
During the election campaign Rachel Reeves and Keir Starmer, now Chancellor and Prime Minister respectively, were at pains to insist they wouldn’t raise income tax...
31 July 2024
FTSE surges, ASML rebound on US reports, market laps up HSBC buyback, GSK’s shingles woes overshadow results beat and investors race for a date with Match Group“Commodities came to the rescue, driving strong gains for the FTSE 100 and helping the UK stock market to buck the sell-off that gripped Wall Street yesterday,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
“A 1.2% gain from the FTSE 100 was driven by Shell, BP and Glencore following a bounce in the oil price. Brent Crude jumped 2% to $79.61 per...
30 July 2024
FTSE hit by Diageo share slump as drinks giant sees problems grow and Greggs bucks negative retail trend with solid growth“A catastrophic session from Diageo served to drag down the FTSE 100 index, which was also hit by Glencore’s weak production update,” says Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
“ BP’s strategy of pre-releasing bad news seems to have worked as that lowered expectations in the run-up to its results. The shares bounced back after second quarter...
29 July 2024
NatWest retail offer abandoned, McDonald's sales hit and markets eye key central bank decisions“This week is the kind of week no investor wants to be off on their summer holidays” comments Danni Hewson, Head of Financial Analysis at AJ Bell.
“With three central banks making interest rate decisions, and four of the ‘magnificent seven’ trying to demonstrate they still deserve the title, markets seem to have been enjoying the calm before the...
29 July 2024
Oil producers fire up the FTSE, Reckitt shares hit 11-year low on negative legal read-across, Heineken shares slump, Pearson’s lack of new buyback disappoints investors“Energy producers gave the FTSE 100 a welcome boost at the start of the new trading week, with the index rising 0.8% to 8,350,” says Dan Coatsworth, Investment Analyst at AJ Bell.
“ Shell and BP were among the biggest contributors to the index’s performance as oil prices nudged higher to $81.21 per barrel. Oil prices had been on a downward trend...
26 July 2024
FTSE 100 on course to end week on a high ahead of US inflation reading, Mercedes lowers margin guidance, NatWest beats forecasts and raises guidance and robust results from Rightmove“The FTSE 100 looks set to end the week on a high despite a continued sell-off in US tech names,” says AJ Bell Head of Financial Analysis Danni Hewson.
“After a week dominated by the reaction to US corporate announcements, attention may shift back to the macro-economic backdrop later with the release of Core PCE data – the Federal Reserve’s...
25 July 2024
Just a third of active fund managers outperform passivesAJ Bell’s latest Manager versus Machine report paints an alarming picture for active managers, who are struggling to beat tracker funds on performance, and are losing hands down when it comes to attracting investors’ money.
The report looks at the performance of active funds across seven equity sectors and compares them to the average passive fund...
25 July 2024
Key results this week: Unilever, Lloyds, Tesla and AlphabetThis week was a busy one on the stock market, with lots of companies reporting their results. Some impressed, and some left investors underwhelmed. We cover the key movers here.
Unilever charges aheadA big improvement on margins put a rocket underneath Unilever’s share price, taking the stock to its highest level since November 2020. Key to its...
25 July 2024
Star manager down: what happens when a fund manager leaves or retires?While the concept of ‘star managers’ may have lost some momentum in recent years, there are still plenty of funds that have key person risk.
This year alone we've seen two clear examples in the announced departures of Ben Whitmore from the Jupiter UK Special Situations fund and Mike Riddell from the Allianz Strategic Bond fund.
The commonality was...
25 July 2024
Markets weak after US tech sell-off, Centrica profit ‘normalises’, ITV’s Euros boost wasn’t enough, Nissan slumps and Anglo American announces further UK mine write-down“Wednesday’s big slump in tech stocks saw US indices endure their worst session since 2022,” says AJ Bell Investment Analyst Dan Coatsworth.
“The weakness bled into Asian trading sessions on Thursday and prompted a slow start in Europe too, although the FTSE 100’s limited exposure to technology likely spared it from larger losses.
“While a $1...
24 July 2024
FTSE 100 lower, luxury sector in a funk, big change for Reckitt, Tesla disappoints, mixed results for Alphabet and Aston Martin reaffirms guidance“The FTSE 100 was lower after disappointing corporate results in the US and a lacklustre session on Wall Street,” says Dan Coatsworth, Investment Analyst at AJ Bell.
“A volatile US presidential race presents an unhelpful backdrop for markets, with a first reading of US second-quarter GDP and the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure later...
23 July 2024
Investors await updates from Tesla and Alphabet, UPS underdelivers, Spotify hits the right note and Coca-Cola impresses“Investors aren’t pulling any punches when it comes to disappointing updates this earnings season and as we brace for the first of those Magnificent Seven stocks to update this evening trading has been pretty subdued,” says Danni Hewson, Head of Financial Analysis at AJ Bell*.
“Often seen as a bellwether for the whole economy, US parcel giant UPS...
23 July 2024
FTSE dragged down by miners, SAP soars, Beazley relief after global IT outage update, reports suggest Alphabet’s Wiz bid has failed, Porsche cuts revenue forecasts and Compass lifts guidance“The FTSE 100 was dragged down by a poor showing from the mining sector off the back of a weak copper price,” says Dan Coatsworth, Investment Analyst at AJ Bell.
“Copper futures have fallen by nearly 7% over the past five days amid concerns about sluggish demand from China as it struggles with a slowdown in economic growth. The market has taken the...
22 July 2024
European airlines suffer turbulent day, CrowdStrike shares fall as details of IT shutdown emerge and tech stocks see boost amid political uncertainty in the US“It’s been a turbulent day for European airline stocks after Ryanair’s hefty profit fall and warning that the days when travellers would begrudgingly pay pretty much any price to get away have been and gone,” says AJ Bell Head of Financial Analysis Danni Hewson.
“Since the pandemic and even in the midst of a cost-of-living crunch, people have been...
22 July 2024
Market appears to welcome Biden's withdrawal, Ryanair issues warning, bid talk for Rentokil, Ocado jumps, Entain appoints new CEO, Hammerson in major disposal and second English wine maker up for sale“The market appears to have welcomed Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race, given how futures prices imply a decent opening for Wall Street. However, there is still a lot of uncertainty until the new Democratic candidate is confirmed. That means we could see heightened volatility over the next few weeks, with assets quickly changing...
19 July 2024
Tesla second-quarter results: Tuesday 23 JulyShares in Tesla have gone into overdrive this month. A 33% share price increase saw the company’s stock market valuation grow by $209 billion in just the first eight trading days of the month, a sum that exceeds the aggregate stock market value of Europe’s Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and Stellantis ($198 billion),” says AJ Bell AJ Bell investment...
18 July 2024
Tech firms struggle to recover from yesterday’s slump, TSMC rides AI gravy train, ECB holds rates and investors eye Netflix’s water cooler moment“Tech firms caught up in a geopolitical storm continue to churn out solid results, offering investors some reassurance that the key drivers behind earnings growth remain intact, at least for now,” says Dan Coatsworth, Investment Analyst at AJ Bell.
“AI enablers are making serious money as billions of dollars are invested by companies into securing...
18 July 2024
Japanese shares hit by US sell-off, market rotation helps UK stocks and US small caps, UK wage strength problem for Bank of England, Frasers' results impress and Royal Mail comeback“A catastrophic day for US tech shares hasn’t caused widespread contagion on the markets,” says Dan Coatsworth, Investment Analyst at AJ Bell.
“While the Nasdaq had a miserable day on Wednesday, only Japan’s Nikkei 225 caught a cold in response. Its semiconductor industry might be affected if the US government gets heavier with measures to stop...