Wall Street follows FTSE 100 and Europe's record highs

FTSE NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 09: Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during afternoon trading on April 09, 2024 in New York City. The stock market closed with mixed results as Wall Street awaits the release of the latest inflation data.  (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Wall Street followed the FTSE and European stock markets in opening higher on Friday. · Michael M. Santiago via Getty Images

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The FTSE 100 (^FTSE) and European indices continued their positive run on Friday as the UK economy grew by a better-than-expected 0.6% between January and March. Wall Street followed suit, pushing higher in New York after economic data this week supported bets of interest rate cuts.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), services output was up by an estimated 0.7%, while production output grew 0.8%. Meanwhile, construction was down 0.9%.

This rise in GDP means that the economy is no longer in a technical recession, after activity fell in the third and fourth quarters of last year.

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "The 0.6% growth registered in the first three months of the year was higher than forecast, with the green shoots seen in January and February flowering into a stronger growth spurt in March.

"Confidence breeds more optimism, and with the economy showing signs of repairing and the FTSE 100 rallying higher, the glass half full sentiment is settling in. The blue-chip index has powered higher in early trade and set fresh records, after a sheen of positivity has descended on the UK."

Read more: Trending tickers: TSMC, Novavax, Anglo American and IAG

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  • Blog close

    Well that's all folks — the end of another day and the end of the blog for the week.

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  • Morrisons workers to go on strike

    Workers at Morrisons are set to go on strike in a dispute over pensions, it has been revealed.

    Unite the Union said almost 1,000 of its members working in Cheshire and Wakefield as warehouse stock controllers, canteen staff and administrators voted to take industrial action.

    They will strike from 23 May to 26 May and again from 13 June to 16 June.

    Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said:

    Changes to pension contributions could leave workers £500 worse off.

  • Best savings accounts that offer above inflation rates

    UK households are on the lookout for every little way to make their money go further amid the cost of living crisis, and savings accounts might help.

    After years of low rates, high-yield savings accounts are having a moment as the Bank of England has kept interest rates at a 16-year high of 5.25%. While homeowners face higher mortgages, there is a silver lining in higher borrowing costs as consumers can now find UK savings accounts that offer more than inflation.

    The UK rate of inflation came in at 3.2% in March, the lowest since September 2021, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

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    Looks like the UK economy momentum will keep on going next quarter...

    The UK economy is likely to keep growing during the current quarter, according to the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR).

    They have predicted that GDP will increase 0.6% in the April to June period.

    NIESR said:

  • Anglo American rises after Rio Tinto mulls offer

    Shares in the mining sector were higher on Friday amid reports that Rio Tinto (RIO.L) had considered an offer for rival British miner Anglo American (AAL.L), which is now BHP’s (BHP.L) £31bn takeover target.

    Rio “management had not ruled out making a play for part or all of the mining group and continued to study the day-to-day situation", the Australian Financial Review reported.

    Anglo has turned down BHP’s proposal, saying it was opportunistic and significantly undervalued the British company. Under the UK’s takeover rules, BHP has until May 22 to make a formal offer.

    “Shares in Anglo American are up on a report that Rio Tinto also considered a bid following BHP’s rejected offer. M&A speculation is helping to keep Anglo shares supported at the moment,” Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor, said.

    BHP and Rio have a close working relationship at Escondida and Resolution Copper. One option for Rio is to informally assist BHP’s bid for Anglo by acquiring the assets that BHP does not want, such as Anglo’s diamond business, AFR wrote.

    Glencore is also studying options for a possible approach for Anglo, Reuters reported earlier in the month, a move that could spark a bidding war.

    See what other tickers are trending here

  • Oil rises on renewed hopes for US rate cuts

    Oil prices rose on Friday, after two days of gains, as US jobs data supported the case for Federal Reserve rate cuts this year.

    Brent crude (BZ=F) the international benchmark, rose 0.4% to push above $84 a barrel after a two-day climb that added about 1%. This was after having exceeded the 100-day moving average. US-produced West Texas Intermediate neared $80.

    The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) are due to meet early next month to decide on output in the second half.

    “With crude oil prices now trading over $10 a barrel off their highs, we could not rule out some speculative buying,” Citigroup Inc. analysts Max Layton and Francesco Martoccia wrote in a note. However, “the right strategy in this balance between geopolitical risks and loosening fundamentals is to sell any rally.”

  • TSM April revenue rises 60%

    Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s (TSM) April revenue jumped nearly 60% year-on-year, as the firm rides a wave of sustained demand for the advanced semiconductors used in artificial intelligence (AI) hardware.

    The world’s largest contract chipmaker said consolidated revenues for April were approximately TWD236.02bn (£5.7bn/$7.2bn), an increase of 59.6% from April 2023. This compares with a 34.3% on-year jump in March 2024.

    The company is Nvidia’s (NVDA) sole manufacturer for the most advanced training chips. TSMC also fabricates semiconductors for Apple (AAPL).

    Last month, TSMC announced its newest semiconductor process, advanced packaging, and other technologies for powering the next generation of AI innovations.

    "We are entering an AI-empowered world, where artificial intelligence not only runs in data centres, but PCs, mobile devices, automobiles and even the internet of things," said CEO C.C. Wei.

  • Rightmove: UK property sector will improve this year

    Rightmove has said that the UK property market will improve this year, as customer numbers rise compared to 2023.

    The UK’s largest property portal expects the number of customers to rise 2% year-on-year, compared to a previous forecast of a “slight decrease”.

    It said that while ongoing high mortgage rates and long completion times on transactions continue to weigh on the market, customers are “now increasingly looking to transact”.

    Sales agreed between January and April came in 17% higher than the same period last year, with 1.1 million sales forecast to take place over this year.

    The company said its house price index indicates annual house price growth of 1.7%, the highest for 12 months.

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    Derek Halpenny, head of research for global markets at financial group Mitsubishi UFJ, said:

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    Ryan McDonnell, CEO at Lidl GB, said:

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    Sterling has risen 0.1% versus the US greenback to $1.2531, even after Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England (BoE) pointed to interest rate cuts later this year.

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  • FTSE hits fresh high

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    London's benchmark index has been on a strong rally since mid-April, and is on track for its third weekly rise in a row. It has gained 9.2% so far this year.

    Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said:

    Meanwhile, Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor, said:

  • UK economy growth better than G7 rivals

    The British economy has grown faster than its G7 rivals at the start of this year. Compared to the 0.6% growth recorded in January-March, here is how the others performed:

    • The US rose 0.4%

    • Germany rose 0.2%

    • France rose 0.2%

    • Italy rose 0.3%

    Canada is estimated to have also grown by 0.6% and Japan is predicted to have grown by 0.2%.

Watch: How does inflation affect interest rates?

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