S&P 500 and Nasdaq open lower
THE S&P500 And Nasdaq Composite opened lower on Wednesday as Wall Street prepared for the Federal Reserve’s next rate decision.
The broader market index slipped 0.15%, as did the Nasdaq. THE Dow Jones Industrial Average added 46 points, or 0.1%
—Samantha Subin
Stocks on the move: Mulberry down 9.3% after reporting continued challenges
Blackberry Shares were down 9.3% at 1:56 p.m. in London after the British retailer, known for its luxury handbags, reported a 4% drop in revenue and a 3.2% drop in revenue. retail sales during a full-year trading update.
“While we saw positive revenue growth in the first half, Mulberry was not immune to the broader slowdown in luxury spending experienced in recent months, particularly in the UK and Asia. This decline was partially offset by positive trade in the United States, where we benefited from increased brand awareness,” CEO Thierry Andretta said in a statement.
Andretta said the business environment in the UK and key luxury market China remained challenging and was unlikely to change in the short term.
“We are therefore managing the business prudently, focusing on executing our strategy and vision to become a sustainable global luxury brand,” Andretta said.
In recent years, the company has moved more of its production to the UK after facing ongoing supply chain challenges.
-Jenni Reid
US and UK experience different types of inflation, investor says
Haig Bathgate, Head of Investments at Atomos, comments on the state of the economy and investments in the bond markets.
UK house prices fall for second consecutive month
Morning light illuminates the terraced streets of residential houses, on October 18, 2023 in Bristol, England.
Matt Cardy | Getty Images
UK house prices fell for a second consecutive month in April, according to an index published by lender Nationwide.
Prices fell by 0.4% over one month, after a drop of 0.2% in March. Economists polled by Reuters had expected a further decline of 0.2%.
On an annual basis, prices rose 0.6% in April, marking a slowdown from the 1.6% growth recorded in March.
Robert Gardner, chief economist at Nationwide, said the figures likely reflected continued affordability pressures on buyers due to rising interest rates.
UK house prices, seasonally adjusted, are now around 4% below the all-time highs reached in summer 2022, Gardner added.
Mortgage rates have risen in recent months as markets have lowered expectations for the scale of the Bank of England’s interest rate cuts this year. The average 2-year fixed residential mortgage rate was 5.91% on May 1, according to Moneyfacts data, up from 5.8% in early April.
-Jenni Reid
Retailer Bellweather Next Reports Increase in Sales, Reaffirms Full-Year Guidance
A shopper browses clothing on display at a Next Plc store in London, UK, Monday April 29, 2024.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Next shares were down 0.3% at 10 a.m. in London after the British clothing and loungewear retailer maintained its full-year profit and sales forecast.
The company, seen by some as a bellwether for UK consumer demand, reported a 5.7% year-on-year rise in sales for the first quarter in a trading update.
In-store sales remained stable, while online sales increased 8.8%.
Economists expect the UK retail environment to improve this year, amid rising real household incomes and potential interest rate cuts.
-Jenni Reid
Aston Martin shares fall as losses widen
Aston Martin DBX707 SUV
Courtesy of: Sassy Films | Aston Martin
Aston Martin shares fell more than 11% in early trade, after the luxury carmaker said its adjusted pre-tax loss almost doubled to £110.5 million ($137.8 million). dollars) in the first quarter. The results were worse than market forecasts.
Shares pared losses and were down 7% as of 9:05 a.m. London time.
Aston Martin share price.
Analysts at Jefferies said the results were “a major failure on all metrics”, reporting a 26% decline in sales volumes.
Aston Martin said the delivery of four new models in 2024 would drive “significant growth” in the second half and beyond, and that the quarter represented an “expected transition period”.
Learn more here.
-Jenni Reid
FTSE 100 opens higher
The offices of the London Stock Exchange Group are seen in the City of London, Great Britain.
Toby Melville | Reuters
Britain’s FTSE 100 index was up 0.2% as of 8:30 a.m. London time.
Most European stock exchanges are closed for the May 1 public holiday. The regional Stoxx 600 The index closed lower on Tuesday as it recorded its first monthly decline since October.
Stoxx 600 index.
GSK raises full-year profit outlook
GSK share price.
GSK reported a 27% rise in first-quarter core operating profit, beating company consensus expectations, as the pharmaceutical giant raised its full-year growth outlook.
The British company said it now expects core operating profit growth of between 9% and 11% in 2024, compared to a previous forecast of between 7% and 10%. It now also expects core earnings per share growth of 8% to 10%, up from a previous forecast of 6% to 9%.
-Jenni Reid
CNBC Pro: Only 2 stocks in Europe beat estimates for 5 quarters and rebounded each time
Only two European stocks have positively surprised markets each quarter over the past five quarters, according to CNBC Pro analysis.
CNBC Pro selected Stoxx 600 stocks that report EPS numbers and have analyst estimates on FactSet.
One of the stocks stood out with several significant share price increases following the release of quarterly results. Most recently, the company beat earnings estimates by 6.1% and shares rose more than 8% in the following session. Likewise, the stock rose 12.8% in a single session four quarters ago.
CNCB Pro subscribers can learn more about the stocks here.
-Ganesh Rao
Oil on track for three straight days of losses amid rising inventories and ceasefire hopes
Oil prices fell for the third straight day on rising U.S. inventories and optimism about a Middle East ceasefire deal.
Brent contracts slipped 0.88% to $85.57 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude saw a wider loss of 1.03% to $81.09 a barrel.
Reuters reported that U.S. crude oil inventories rose last week by 4.906 million barrels, while gasoline and distillate inventories fell, according to market sources citing figures from the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday.
-Lim Hui Jie
CNBC Pro: Citi Names 3 Biotech Stocks That Could Generate a Growing $2.9 Billion Opportunity, Up About 50%
The outlook is starting to look promising for biotech stocks, some say.
With markets now expecting the first rate cut to take place in September rather than June or July as previously thought, biotech stocks could start to perform well.
Biotechnology encompasses many different areas, but Citi has identified one with a $2.9 billion market – which it says is expected to see even greater growth. According to Citi, its market is expected to grow in the mid-single digits over the next five years.
CNBC Pro subscribers can learn more here.
— Weizhen Tan
European markets: here are the opening calls
Only the London FTSE Index is open today, with the German DAX, French CAC and Italian FTSE MIB closed for the May 1/Labor Day holiday.
THE FTSE100 the index is expected to open 11 points lower at 8,132, according to IG data.
Profits come from GSK, Next, Abrdn, Metro Bank, Aston Martin Lagonda and Domino’s Pizza Group.
—Houx Ellyatt
