Yahoo Finance Lucy Harley-McKeown
FTSE 100 LIVE: European markets buoyant and US stocks mixed as early rate cut hopes fade
The FTSE and European markets were up on Tuesday and US stocks were mixed after falling on Monday as markets digest comments made that signal a US rate cut is further away than previously predicted.
The FTSE 100 (^FTSE) popped almost 0.9% higher by the closing bell in London.
Gains in the index were led by oil giant BP (BP.L), which posted full-year 2023 results and plans to boost shareholder returns. Shareholder rewards came despite a drop in profits for the commodities major. BP was up 5.7% by the close in London.
The pan-European STOXX 600 (^STOXX) rose 0.6%, while Germany's DAX (^GDAXI) headed 0.7% higher and the CAC (^FCHI) in Paris rose 0.6%.
Europe was in a better mood than the US, which had closed down on Monday, following a warning from Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell about cutting interest rates too soon.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) was almost flat by the close in Europe, while the Dow (^DJI) was up 0.2% and the Nasdaq (^IXIC) fell 0.1%.
Chipmakers such as Nvidia (NVDA) and Micron Technology (MU) were among companies dragging the tech-heavy Nasdaq into the red.
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Are the 'mag 7' all they're cracked up to be?
It's early days for 2024 still, but we have an interesting chart from Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist for LPL Financial looking at the hero stocks of the US indexes and their contributions to the S&P 500’s total return from this year to last year:
Credit: LPL Financial His takeaways:
This year’s Mag 7 performance looks much different than last year. For example, the equal weight Mag 7 index was outperforming the S&P 500 by 23% at this time last year, compared to this year’s roughly 5% year-to-date delta over the broader market.
Within the group, leadership has also become more concentrated. Shares of Amazon (AMZN), Meta (META), Microsoft (MSFT), and NVIDIA (NVDA) have done most of the heavy lifting. These four stocks have contributed to nearly 75% of the S&P 500’s total return this year, more than double the contributions from the top four stocks during this time last year.
As the chart illustrates, contributions among the group were all positive last year at this time and more evenly dispersed.
Former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng prepares to stand down
Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng exits a car on Downing Street in London, Britain, October 14, 2022. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File Photo (Reuters / Reuters) Kwasi Kwarteng, the chancellor who served under Liz Truss's short premiership, has said he will stand down as an MP at the next election.
"Yesterday I informed my association chair of my decision not to stand at the next general election.
"It has been an honour to serve the residents of Spelthorne since 2010, and I shall continue to do so for the remainder of my time in parliament," the MP for Spelthorne in Surrey, said on Tuesday.
Kwarteng, who holds a majority of 18,393 in his constituency, leaves a chequered legacy as he prepares to step back. He was the chancellor who shepherded the disastrous mini-budget which crashed the pound and sent UK markets into disarray. Truss resigned as the prime minister shortly after.
Sky News reported today that he is the 55th Conservative MP to say he will not stand at the next election.
BP expands share buybacks despite falling profits
Il logo della multinazionale britannica del petrolio e del gas Bp è esposto durante la fiera dell'energia LNG 2023 a Vancouver, Columbia Britannica, in Canada, 12 luglio 2023. REUTERS/Chris Helgren/File Photo (Reuters / Reuters) Yahoo Finance UK reporter Pedro Goncalves has the full story on BP:
BP (BP.L) has reported a sharp drop in profits after oil prices fell last year but is pushing ahead with further shareholder returns.
BP made underlying profits of $3bn (£2.4bn) in the final three months of the year, exceeding analyst estimates of $2.8bn, and taking earnings for 2023 to $13.8bn (£11bn). However, this is down by half from the record of $27.7bn set in 2022.
Despite the plunge, the energy firm will continue to pump money back to shareholders. It has announced a new $1.75bn share buyback — larger than the $1.5bn it executed in the last quarter — and is committed to $3.5bn worth of buybacks for the first half of this year. Overall, the plan is to buy back at least $14bn over 2024-25.
BP’s new chief executive Murray Auchincloss said: “Looking back, 2023 was a year of strong operational performance with real momentum in delivery right across the business.
“And as we look ahead, our destination remains unchanged... focused on growing the value of BP.”
Read more here: BP expands share buybacks despite falling profits
FTSE risers and fallers
Here are the FTSE 100's (^FTSE) top fallers, as of 9.20am:
FTSE fallers And the top risers:
FTSE risers
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