News
stocks, news, data and earnings
Thu May 23, 2024, 11:52 am EDT
European markets close slightly higher
European markets closed slightly higher on Thursday, as investors digested the minutes of the latest US Federal Reserve meeting and new economic data from the euro zone.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 provisionally ended up 0.06%, with most sectors and major bourses in mixed territory.
– April Cockroach
Thu May 23, 2024, 10:53 am EDT
Hargreaves Lansdown rises 13% after rejecting £4.7bn takeover bid
Hargreaves Lansdown shares soared on Thursday after the company rejected a £4.7bn takeover approach from a consortium that included Capital CVC and the Abu Dhabi Wealth Fund.
Shares were trading about 13.4% higher in London at 3:45 p.m. local time.
Nordic Capital and Platinum Ivy were also among the companies that made an offer to buy Hargreaves Lansdown for 985 pence per ordinary share.
The British financial services company’s board of directors unanimously rejected the proposal, claiming it “substantially undervalues” the company and its future prospects, he said in a Thursday statement.
– April Cockroach
Thu May 23, 2024, 9:33 am EDT
US Stocks Open Mixed, Tech Stocks Jump
US stocks opened mixed on Thursday, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumping 1% on strong Nvidia results.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1% in early trading, while the S&P 500 rose 0.5%.
-Karen Gilchrist
Thu May 23, 2024, 8:14 am EDT
Eurozone business activity grows at fastest pace in a year
Business activity growth in the euro zone reached a 12-month high in May, according to the HCOB and S&P Global Purchasing Managers’ Index.
The reading of 52.3 was slightly above the expectations of 52 economists surveyed by Reuters.
“The economic recovery in the euro zone gained momentum in May”, says the survey. “Faster increases in business activity, new orders and employment were recorded midway through the second quarter, while business confidence reached a 27-month high.”
Inflation in input and output costs has also decreased, he said.
-Jenni Reid
Thu May 23, 2024, 6:17 am EDT
National Grid’s new strategy is a ‘transformational step in investment in energy infrastructure’, says CEO
National Grid CEO John Pettigrew discusses the company’s annual results and investment plans for the next five years.
Thu May 23, 2024, 5:32 am EDT
UK PMIs miss expectations, but price data could be a “comfort” for the BOE
Engineers prepare to move a train carriage at Alstom’s train manufacturing facility on April 30, 2024 in Derby, England.
Christopher Furlong | Getty Images News | Getty Images
UK economic output continued to rise in May, in line with closely watched Purchasing Managers Index from S&P Global, but missed economists’ forecasts.
The pace of growth slowed as the recovery in manufacturing failed to overcome weakness in services.
The composite output value produced by the survey was 52.8, down from 54.1 in April and against an estimate of 53.9, according to a Reuters poll. The 50 mark separates growth from contraction.
Business activity in the country’s dominant services industry was at its lowest level in the last six months, as suppliers experienced the weakest cost pressures for more than three years.
This last point may provide “some comfort” to the Bank of England after official statistics on services inflation were higher than expected on Wednesday, said Andrew Wishart, senior UK economist at Capital Economics.
“Crucially, the further decline in equilibrium prices for services output suggests that services inflation will continue to fall… Overall, the May PMIs provide support for the idea that April’s CPI inflation was more noise than what a signal,” Wishart said, adding that this would support an August rate cut by the BOE.
-Jenni Reid
Thu May 23, 2024, 4:36 am EDT
Stocks on the Move: QinetiQ, Gerresheimer Rising; Fallen National Network
from Germany Gerresheimer soared more than 12% in early trading after the producer of medical products and packaging announced would acquire the Bormioli Pharma Group holding company for an enterprise value of around 800 million euros (866.32 million dollars).
Gerresheimer said Bormioli had a complementary portfolio of pharmaceutical primary packaging in glass and plastic, and that the acquisition would strengthen its European presence with new production sites.
UK aircraft engineering company QinetiQ was also around 12% higher after recording a 20% increase in full-year operating profit results.
national gridthe operator of Britain’s power grid, fell 9% after advertising a £7 billion capital increase as it aims to invest £60 billion in the five years to 2029. It also reported an 8% decline in operating profit.
-Jenni Reid
Thu May 23, 2024, 03:22 am EDT
European stock markets open higher
See the graph…
Stoxx 600 Index.
European stocks opened slightly higher on Thursday, with the Stoxx 600 index up 0.3% at 8:18 a.m. London time.
France’s CAC 40 and Germany’s DAX both fell 0.3%.
The UK’s FTSE 100 bucked the trend to fall 0.1% as traders digested a surprise election announcement it’s Wednesday Inflation in the UK numbers, which reduced market expectations of a rate cut in June.
-Jenni Reid
Wednesday, May 22, 2024, 8:08 pm EDT
CNBC Pro: How family offices plan to invest now and over the next 5 years, according to UBS
Family offices increased their fixed income investments in developed markets by the most seen in five years, according to a new study from UBS.
This was one of the main changes observed in this survey of 320 global single family offices across seven regions – the largest family office study UBS has undertaken to date.
See how family offices are investing this year and how they plan to change their allocations over the next five years.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
-Weizhen Tan
Wednesday, May 22, 2024, 3:15 pm EDT
Fed minutes say hike for longer
The aggressive tone of the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting indicates that “higher for longer is the official mantra,” said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at the Independent Advisor Alliance.
“Given that rate cuts are off the table, bears would normally be excited, but with Chairman Powell officially taking rate hikes off the table, the market will fluctuate based on other factors,” Zaccarelli said.
He added that Nvidia’s earnings after the bell will dictate the direction the market takes in the coming days.
—Hakyung Kim
Wednesday, May 22, 2024, 2:05 pm EDT
Fed still concerned about inflation, minutes show
The minutes of the Federal Reserve’s most recent meeting showed that the central bank remains concerned about inflation in the US.
“Participants noted that although inflation has declined over the past year, in recent months there has been no further progress toward the Committee’s 2 percent target,” the summary stated. “Recent monthly data has shown significant increases in the inflation components of goods and services prices.”
“Several participants mentioned a willingness to tighten policy further if risks to inflation materialize in such a way that such action becomes appropriate,” the minutes added.
—Fred Imbert
Wednesday, May 22, 2024, 8:08 pm EDT
CNBC Pro: This global private equity stock invested in SHEIN, Figma, Databricks, Discord and ByteDance could rise 40%, analysts say
A diversified listed private equity investment company could see its share price rise by more than 40%, according to analysts at investment banks Peel Hunt and Jefferies.
The closed-end fund has investments in high-profile private companies, such as SHEIN, Figma, Databricks, Discord and ByteDance, owner of TikTok, among others.
It has assets worth almost US$4 billion invested in more than 1,000 companies.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
-Ganesh Rao
Wednesday, May 22, 2024, 11:45 pm EDT
European markets: here are the opening calls
European markets are expected to open higher on Thursday.
The United Kingdom FTSE 100 the index is expected to open 1 point higher at 8,369 than Germany DAX rose 4 points to 18,681, France’s CAC 14 points more, with 8,101 and Italy’s MIB FTSE rose 30 points to 34,559, according to IG data.
Gains will come from Julius Baer, Acciona, Nationwide Building Society, Rolls-Royce, Aviva and Wizz Air. Preliminary Eurozone industrial and services activity data for May is expected, as are consumer confidence figures to the single currency area.
-Holly Ellyatt