Michael Hewson
BP shares rise to two-month highs, after boosting buybacks and the dividend
Having seen sector peer Shell beat expectations last week, the pressure was on BP to follow suit today with its full year and Q4 numbers, in a year that has also seen a change at the top of the organisation albeit for slightly different reasons.While the...
7 months ago
BP helps the FTSE100 break a 4-day decline
European markets have had a more positive tone today on the back of a modest decline in yields and a weaker US dollar. After four days of declines the FTSE100 has finally seen a positive session today, closing higher for the first time in 5 days, briefly...
7 months ago
US dollar pushes to 12-week highs as early rate cut bets recede
With markets already nervous about delays to US rate cuts after Fed chair Jay Powell reiterated his Wednesday press conference comments that a March rate cut was unlikely, the last thing they wanted to see was ISM prices paid for January surge to their hi...
7 months ago
Rising yields and sticky inflation concerns weigh on European markets
It’s been a disappointing start to the week for European markets as investors continue to absorb last Friday’s US payrolls, along with comments from Fed chair Jay Powell which reiterated the hawkish message from last Wednesday’s Fed press conference.Europ...
7 months agoServices PMIs in focus as markets reset rate cut expectations
Last week proved to a rather mixed one for global markets with European markets finishing the week modestly higher, but ultimately giving up some of the gains of the previous week on concerns over the prospect that rate cuts might have to wait until later...
7 months ago
Europe set for higher open as yields stabilise
Yesterday the DAX closed at a record high, while the FTSE100 posted its best one-day gain in over a week, closing at its highest level in almost a month driven primarily by a strong performance from the energy sector.There was also an undercurrent of opti...
7 months ago
The Week Ahead: US, UK inflation; NatWest, Airbnb results
After 20-plus years of award-winning service (he again led the team to the Best In-House Analysts award at last year’s Professional Trader Awards), our chief market analyst, Michael Hewson, is stepping down. This is his last Week Ahead. Thanks for reading...
7 months ago
US payrolls boom kills March rate cut hopes stone dead
European markets have finished a choppy week on the up, shrugging off the disappointment that central banks appear to have pushed back the prospect of early rate cuts until later in the year, although today’s bumper US payrolls report has caused a retreat...
7 months ago
US non-farm payrolls webinar: 2 February 2024
Stream the recording of our live US non-farm payrolls webinar that took place on Friday, 2 February 2024.Key takeaways from the latest announcement- The US economy added 353,000 jobs in January, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, far outstrippin...
7 months ago
US payroll growth expected to remain steady in January
European markets got off to a soft start to the month yesterday as investors weighed up the messaging from both the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England this week.Having had a high degree of confidence that rate cuts were coming before the end of Q1, i...
7 months ago
China sales take a bite out of Apple, Amazon and Meta set to surge
US markets look set to get off to a strong start on the back of strong gains in Meta and Amazon shares after hours in the aftermath of their latest earnings numbers.Having got off to a strong start to the year, as well as rallying from 5-month lows last O...
7 months ago
Shell announces another buyback as profits beat forecasts
Since the Shell share price hit fresh record highs back in October, the slowdown in oil and gas prices since then has prompted a significant pullback with the shares sliding to a 5-month low in January.A few weeks ago, Shell flagged that a better performa...
7 months ago
Bank of England signals cuts are coming, just not as soon as markets would like
It’s been a weak start to the month for European markets as investors weigh the messaging from both the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England, which appears to be that rate cuts are coming, just not as soon as markets were hoping 24 hours ago, prompting...
7 months ago
Fed pours cold water on March cut, Bank of England up next
European markets finished the month on a down note with the FTSE100 posting its worst month since October last year, with a decline in US markets acting as an anchor on the wider market.While the FTSE100 had a disappointing month, the CAC 40 and DAX manag...
7 months ago