This period saw strong growth in the markets, with all major indices showing growth as companies continued to boost their prices via strong earnings. The general consensus around interest rate cuts seems to be optimistic, as economic factors seem to be heading in the right direction. Gold continues to perform well as unrest in the world continues and as central banks, banks, and individuals increase their purchasing of the precious metal.
Index performance
FTSE 100: 2.52%
FTSE 250: 2.92%
CAC 40: 2.68%
DAX: 3.91%
SSE: 0.67%
Hang Seng: 5.76%
Nikkei: 0.37%
ASX 200: 2.37%
Dow Jones: 3.31%
NASDAQ: 3.32%
S&P 500: 3.14%
Events
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has cut its stake in Apple by 22%.
The Yen continues to be volatile amid the intervention by the Japanese authorities in the value of the Yen against the Dollar.
Reddit stock surged after reporting impressive earnings of $243 million.
Apple unveils the new iPad Pro with a new M4 chip and OLED display.
Walt Disney shares fell over 9% after beating multiple earnings estimates but failing to meet revenue forecasts.
AstraZeneca has announced that it will no longer sell the COVID-19 vaccine globally due to a fall in demand as others that are more effective against the new variants become the standard.
Experts are predicting a cut in interest rates by the Bank of England in August, with another taking place in November or December.
The Bank of England keeps interest rates at 5.25% after voting 7-2 to do so.
The UK’s economy grew by 0.6% in the first quarter of the year, ending the technical recession it was in.
Arm has announced its plan to launch AI chips in partnership with TSMC to rival Nvidia and Intel. Mass production is set to take place in the spring of 2025.
TSMC’s sales in April jumped 60% to $7.3 billion as the demand for AI chips seems to remain alive.
GameStop and AMC surged due to online interest. Game stock surged over 100%, causing short sellers to lose over $1 billion.
The United States government has increased its tariffs on $18 billion worth of Chinese goods like semiconductors (50%), electric cars (102.5%), lithium-ion batteries (25%), and solar panels (50%).
Core inflation in the IS reached the lowest since April 2021 at 3.6%, with annual inflation at 3.4%.
GSK announced it will sell its remaining stake in Haleon, worth 385 million shares.
Upcoming Events
May 20th: China Interest Rates (3.45)
May 21st: GDP of Denmark and Norway
May 24th: GDP of Germany
May 30th: GDP of Sweden, Switzerland, Belgium, and the United States.
May 31st: GDP of Finland, Sweden, France, Italy, Iceland, Portugal, India, Canada, Austria, Turkey, and the Czech Republic.
Dividend payments for Major companies
May 20th: Energy Transfer LP ($0.32)
May 21st: Lloyd’s Banking Group (£0.02), Norsk Hydro (NOK2.50)
May 22nd: Adidas (€0.70)
May 23rd: BNP Paribas (€4.60), ITV (£0.03), and AESI Holdings ($0.22).
May 24th: Citigroup ($0.53)
May 28th: Walmart ($0.21)
May 31st: Tencent (HK$3.40), Starbucks ($0.57)
Earnings of major companies
May 20th: Palo Alto Networks (PANW)
May 22nd: Nvidia (NVDA), Target (TGT), and Universal Corporation (UVV)
May 23rd: International Distribution Service (IDS.L)
May 28th: Meituan (03690.HK)
May 29th: Salesforce (CRM), UiPath (PATH), and Nordic American Tankers (NAT)
May 30th: Foot Locker (FL)
P.S.: Do not take this as financial advice; make your own decisions and do further research before investing in the markets, as your capital is at risk.
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