Morning Note: A Round-up of Market News.

US equities were little changed last night – S&P 500 (flat); Nasdaq (+0.3%) – following President Trump’s comment that the US is to hold nuclear talks with Iran next week. Big tech was mostly higher with Alphabet (Google) and Nvidia among the best performers and Tesla a drag. Brent Crude trades at $68 a barrel.

 

US tariffs are expected to fall well below the April 2 levels announced by Trump following negotiations with trading partners, Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender said.

 

Treasuries mostly firmer with curve steepening on bets US rate cuts would come sooner than expected after the Wall Street Journal reported Donald Trump is considering naming an early replacement for Jerome Powell. The 10-year currently yields 4.27%, while the dollar declined. Gold nudged up to $3,345 an ounce. The Shanghai Gold Exchange launched two yuan-based contracts and a bullion vault in Hong Kong, its first move outside mainland China. Platinum moved up to its highest level since 2024 on supply concerns.

 

In Asia this morning, equities were mixed: Nikkei 225 (+1.7%, to 4-month high); Hang Seng (-0.7%); Shanghai Composite (-0.2%). Hong Kong intervened to defend its currency peg. The FTSE 100 is currently little changed at 8,726, while Sterling trades at $1.3735 and €1.1730. Companies trading ex-dividend today include BAT (1.71%), IAG (1.54%), Personal Assets Trusts (0.59%)

 

Shell has released a statement clarifying that it has not been actively considering making an offer for BP and confirms it has not made an approach to, and no talks have taken place with BP with regards to a possible offer. Following the initial Wall Street Journal report that talks were taking place, the US line of BP rose by 10%, only to fall back down on Shell’s denial.

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Morning Note: Market News and an Update from Nike.

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Morning Note: Market News and an Update from Tritax Big Box REIT.