Morning Note: A Round-up of Global Financial Market News.
Market News
Brent Crude declined to $93 a barrel as tensions in the Middle East eased. Netanyahu said Israel is holding fire against Iran for now but will respond if Tehran attacks again. LNG prices are set to climb to their highest levels in more than three years as hotter weather in Asia and Europe’s restocking needs boost demand, according to Morgan Stanley.
Concerns over oil-driven inflation and the prospect of higher central bank interest rates subsided. Gold moved back above $4,330 an ounce, while the yield on the US 10-year Treasury sits at 4.55%.
The yen held steady after reports the Bank of Japan will discuss halting its quarterly reductions in bond-buying from April 2027 onward at its upcoming June meeting.
A rebound in equities that began on Wall Street – S&P 500 (+0.3%); Nasdaq (+0.9%) – extended into Asia this morning: Nikkei 225 (+1.9%); Hang Seng (+0.2%); Shanghai Composite (+1.0%). BofA warned investors it’s time to ‘take profits’ from US equities, while Morgan Stanley’s chief US equity strategist maintained his constructive outlook, supported by earnings and strong economic data.
SpaceX’s initial public offering was oversubscribed, OpenAI filed confidentially for an IPO, and Apple’s AI-led reboot set the stage for new devices.
The FTSE 100 is currently 0.4% lower at 10,338. GSK has announced the acquisition of Nuvalent, a US-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on creating precisely targeted oncology therapies, for $10.6bn. The expected purchase price of $124 per share represents a 40% premium to the last closing price, with the deal funded primarily from new and existing debt facilities plus cash. There is no change to GSK’s 2026 full-year guidance, and the company remains committed to its 70p expected dividend. The shares are down 4% in early trading this morning.
The UK government will reimburse visa fees paid by fast-growing companies hiring overseas workers, in a push to make Britain more attractive to tech firms. Sterling trades at $1.3366 and €1.1580.
Leaving the EU has cost the UK 2% to 4% of forgone economic output but almost half can be recovered by improving trade with the bloc, according to Bloomberg. Its estimate of the damage is slightly lower than the BOE’s 3.5% of GDP and the 4% used by the Office for Budget Responsibility. Even so, the consequences of Brexit have been “significant and negative.”
Source: Bloomberg
