27 May 2022
FTSE fails to join market rebound“Having bucked the negative market trend this year with a positive performance, the FTSE 100 fell on Friday as the rest of Europe rose,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
“A 0.2% drop to 7,548 was nothing too serious yet it does hint at a change in tone for investors, who might perhaps be feeling confident enough to revisit higher...
27 May 2022
Snap share price badly bruised by Apple’s new privacy policyYou can tell a share price is in trouble when even a drop of 25% is hard to spot on the chart and Snap’s pre-market plunge is just such an example.
The self-styled camera company’s stock now trades below the March 2017 flotation price of $17 and is down by some 80% from its September 2021 peak after a profit warning for the second quarter that...
26 May 2022
FTSE flat, energy firms dip ahead of cost-of-living announcement, JD extends losses on Cowgill exit and Serco delivers positive surprise“The FTSE 100 reacted with a shrug to a £10 billion package from the UK Government to support households struggling with the cost of living,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“There were suggestions in some quarters this could add to inflationary pressures if the support is not sufficiently well targeted – it feels like governments and...
25 May 2022
So far, so bad: why (so far) this looks like a classic bear marketThis year’s swoon in share prices, let alone cryptocurrencies, may be a nasty surprise to some investors but those with longer memories could be forgiven for thinking, ‘Here we go again.’
The bear market that is threatening to chew up a lot of the past few years’ gains so far looks like so many other downturns that have gone before it. Investors...
25 May 2022
Marks & Spencer and Pets at Home show resilience while utilities stocks bounce back Marks & Spencer“There was a chance that Steve Rowe would leave Marks & Spencer on a sour note, given the pressures on household finances and how that might have hurt sales. Fortunately, the retailer has pleasantly surprised with its full-year results showing resilience which the company arguably lacked before Rowe became the boss,” says Russ Mould...
24 May 2022
Snap warning to derail US stock market, windfall tax threat for renewable energy firms and SSP back in fashion Snap / Social Media Companies“ Snap, crackle, pop, watch as shares drop in companies reliant on advertising income. A warning by Snapchat’s owner has sent ripples across the market for social media companies, triggering fears that advertising spend has peaked for now,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
“We’ve already seen cracks in...
23 May 2022
Global markets bounce back, Kingfisher posts resilient sales and Moonpig snaps up Red Letter Days’ owner“The FTSE 100 is now within a whisker of its January 2022 starting position, meaning that anyone who owns a fund tracking this index will be smiling given how the performance is better than most other major stock markets in the world,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
“Commodity producers have been the FTSE’s saviour and they are...
20 May 2022
UK markets stand firm, positive retail sales surprise lifts ASOS and Boohoo, and M&A juggernaut keeps trucking“Investors may feel as if they’ve been soaked by a torrential shower given the state of the markets this year. Look closer and it’s clear that the FTSE 100 is the one with the best umbrella,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
“A nice rise on Friday gave welcome ballast to portfolios and put the UK blue-chip index a mere 1.4% down...
20 May 2022
Passive Favourite fund updates - May 2022 What is the AJ Bell Favourite funds list?The AJ Bell Favourite funds list is designed to lighten your research load. There are thousands of funds out there – we’ve narrowed the field by selecting a 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...
19 May 2022
Would-be buyers on the dip face their next test“The VIX, or ‘fear index,’ trades near 30 and CNN’s Greed and Fear index at just 12, so with near-term sentiment seemingly washed out this could be a key test of investors’ appetite for buying tech and meme stocks and cryptocurrencies on the dip, a tactic that has served them so well since the market bottom reached in the wake of the Great...
19 May 2022
US margin debt falls again as investors’ appetite for risk recedesAccording to the latest set of data from American market regulator FINRA, margin debt – the amount of money borrowed by either professional or private investors in the US – has just fallen for the seventh time in ten months. Even the pandemic could not force such a retrenchment, so perhaps this is a sign that the mood music is changing.
Meme...
19 May 2022
KKR fires up a bid for power plant play ContourGlobalPower utility ContourGlobal has hardly blown out the lights since its listing on the London Stock Exchange in November 2017 but a bid from private equity for the power utility offers a reminder of valuable lessons for investors.
First, cash flow is king. Second, investing for yield and income can bring its long-term reward to patient portfolio...
19 May 2022
Target triggers retail rout and sends stocks tumbling, National Grid posts £4 billion profit, EasyJet aiming for pre-pandemic passenger numbers and Royal Mail at a crossroads“After the Walmart wobble on Tuesday, Target struck terror into the hearts of the US retail sector and was a big contributing factor behind the worst day for US markets since 2020 on Wednesday,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“The extent of the impact of inflation on these giants of American retailing has woken investors up, once...
18 May 2022
UK stocks shrug off inflation figures, slimmed-down Aviva shines, Premier Foods to lift prices, and Burberry and Watches of Switzerland show the rich are still spending“Investing is an expectations game so it’s not really a surprise that the market has shrugged off the highest levels of inflation in the UK in 40 years given the number was actually slightly behind forecasts,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“People will already be starting to work out when inflation prices might peak and attempting...
17 May 2022
FTSE higher, Imperial Brands impresses and Land Securities reports record leasing in central London offices“This is not the message you want to hear from the Bank of England Governor. Andrew Bailey as a latter-day King Canute has told everyone he and the Bank are helpless in the face of runaway inflation,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“But despite this, and employment data showing a record jump in pay to underline his point, the FTSE...
16 May 2022
Vodafone brings more excitement to telecoms sector, Greggs warns of cost pressures and Made.com hit by cost-of-living crisis Vodafone“Four years ago, the telecoms sector was deemed as dull as dishwater, with no sign of any excitement. Since then, we’ve had Vodafone spin off part of its assets as Vantage Towers, Euskaltel bought by Masmovil, BT form a joint venture for its sports arm and attract a strategic investor at the group level, and private equity firm KKR try to...
13 May 2022
FTSE recovers after recession rout, bitcoin bounces back and Sage impresses“After the recession rout there was a calmer feel to market proceedings on Friday,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“A late recovery on Wall Street on Thursday may have helped investors’ mood but the up and down nature of trading is a reminder of just how febrile things are right now.
“It feels financial assets are starting to reflect...
12 May 2022
UK wage growth and inflation figures: 17 and 18 MayThe Bank of England has pushed through its fourth interest rate increase in sixth months after its warning that inflation could reach 10% towards the end of 2022. The central bank has also warned of possible recession in 2023 to show what a difficult balancing act it has, between taming inflation on the one hand but not jacking up interest rates so...
12 May 2022
FTSE slumps, JD Sports holds firm, Rolls-Royce’s good news ignored, and BT agrees sport venture“The FTSE 100 tumbled after weak UK GDP numbers and higher than expected US inflation figures stoked fears about a global economic slowdown. Investors were quick to dump commodity producers on the grounds that demand could fall in the coming months,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
“Tech-heavy Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust...
11 May 2022
BP’s plans mean FTSE 100 share buybacks are on track to set new-all time high in 2022The debate over BP’s bumper profits and the rights and wrongs of a windfall tax looks set to continue but the facts of the matter are that the oil major’s latest plans to return cash to its investors mean the FTSE 100’s members are poised to set a new all-time record for share buybacks in 2022.
BP’s plan to buy back $2.5 billion of stock in the...
11 May 2022
Gas prices surge in Europe, TUI reports strong recovery and Compass lifts revenue guidance“Another day, another reminder of the energy crisis facing Europe as Ukraine stems the flow of Russian gas,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“Prices surged on this latest threat to supply which will concentrate European minds on the need to find alternative energy sources. In the meantime it only adds to the inflationary concerns...
10 May 2022
Dividend stocks to the rescue as European stocks avoid US slump“After yet another miserable session in the US yesterday, Europe and pockets of Asia managed to avoid the rout and push ahead on Tuesday. This is unexpected given market sentiment is weak and the VIX ‘fear’ index yesterday jumped to its second highest closing price in the past 12 months,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
“Stocks in...
9 May 2022
FTSE 100 weighed down by US, Chinese and Russian risks, Rightmove boss steps down, and Shaftesbury and Capital & Counties in merger talks“The optimism that followed the US Federal Reserve meeting last Wednesday feels a long way off on Monday morning as the FTSE 100 dropped to its lowest levels since mid-March,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“The continuing impact of Beijing’s zero-Covid policy in China and concerns about the Fed’s next moves are helping to pile the...
6 May 2022
Why Wednesday’s post-Fed rally may have been a bear trapWhen Jack Nicholson was playing The Joker in Tim Burton’s first Batman film in 1989, he was so well paid that he reportedly told a fellow cast member after just a week’s shooting, ‘Ah well, that’s another Matisse.’ Financial markets are starting to rack up some big numbers, too, but in this case the money is flowing out, not in.
After Thursday’s...
6 May 2022
What higher interest rates have meant for US stocks“The US Federal Reserve’s determination to continue tightening monetary policy, via both higher interest rates and sterilisation of Quantitative Easing, is likely to make life more difficult for investors, if history is any guide,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“Given that benchmark 10-year US Treasury yields are still running well...