Latest news with #RichardHunter
Free Malaysia Today
3 days ago
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Wall Street futures down as Trump's tariffs stay put after latest court ruling
Stocks have seen immense volatility this month due to US President Donald Trump's on-and-off tariff moves. (Reuters pic) NEW YORK : Wall Street futures slipped today, as investors took stock of an appeals court decision to undo a prior ruling that had blocked most of US President Donald Trump's tariffs, heading into the last trading day of a solid month for equities. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are on pace for their best monthly showing since November 2023, while the Dow is also set for a near 4% monthly advance. Stocks have seen immense volatility this month on Trump's on-and-off tariff moves, though the S&P 500 has rebounded from its April low and now sits about 4% lower from its all-time high hit in February. US equities had initially rallied yesterday when the court of international trade ruled late yesterday to effectively block most levies imposed since January, but did not address some industry-specific tariffs. However, a federal appeals court yesterday temporarily reinstated most of the tariffs and ordered the plaintiffs in the cases to respond by June 5 and the administration by June 9. 'This week's courtroom drama has added another layer of uncertainty to what was already an unsettling series of events,' Richard Hunter, head of markets at interactive investor, said in a morning note. Hopes of more trade deals between the US and major trading partners, along with upbeat earnings and tame inflation data, have been some of the main drivers of gains in equities this month. US treasury secretary Scott Bessent stated that US trade talks with China are 'a bit stalled' and getting a deal over the finish line will likely need the direct involvement of President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. At 5.14am, Dow E-minis were down 31 points, or 0.07%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 8.5 points, or 0.14% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 36.5 points, or 0.17%. Most megacap and growth stocks inched lower in premarket trading, with Nvidia off 0.7% after gaining in the last session on reporting robust quarterly revenue growth. Chipmaker Marvell Technology shed 3.9% despite forecasting second-quarter revenue above estimates. Ulta Beauty gained 8.6% after the cosmetics retailer raised its annual profit forecast after beating quarterly results. Zscaler advanced 3.2% as the cloud security firm raised its annual profit and revenue forecasts and named Kevin Rubin as its CFO. Later in the day, the personal consumption expenditure data – the Federal Reserve's (Fed) favoured inflation indicator – is scheduled for release at 8.30am, which could shed more light on the US Fed's interest rate trajectory. Trump called Fed chair Jerome Powell to the White House late yesterday for their first face-to-face meeting since he took office in January and told the central bank chief he was making a 'mistake' by not lowering interest rates. Traders currently see at least two 25 basis points of cuts by the end of the year, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Wall Street futures down as Trump's tariffs stay put after latest court ruling
May 30 (Reuters) - Wall Street futures slipped on Friday, as investors took stock of an appeals court decision to undo a prior ruling that had blocked most of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs, heading into the last trading day of a solid month for equities. The S&P 500 (.SPX), opens new tab and the Nasdaq (.IXIC), opens new tab are on pace for their best monthly showing since November 2023, while the Dow (.DJI), opens new tab is also set for a near 4% monthly advance. Stocks have seen immense volatility this month on Trump's on-and-off tariff moves, though the S&P 500 has rebounded from its April low and now sits about 4% lower from its all-time high hit in February. U.S. equities had initially rallied on Thursday when the Court of International Trade ruled late on Wednesday to effectively block most levies imposed since January, but did not address some industry-specific tariffs. However, a federal appeals court on Thursday temporarily reinstated most of the tariffs and ordered the plaintiffs in the cases to respond by June 5 and the administration by June 9. "This week's courtroom drama has added another layer of uncertainty to what was already an unsettling series of events," Richard Hunter, head of markets at interactive investor, said in a morning note. Hopes of more trade deals between the U.S. and major trading partners, along with upbeat earnings and tame inflation data, have been some of the main drivers of gains in equities this month. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that U.S. trade talks with China are "a bit stalled" and getting a deal over the finish line will likely need the direct involvement of President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. At 5:14 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 31 points, or 0.07%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 8.5 points, or 0.14% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 36.5 points, or 0.17%. Most megacap and growth stocks inched lower in premarket trading, with Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab off 0.7% after gaining in the last session on reporting robust quarterly revenue growth. Chipmaker Marvell Technology (MRVL.O), opens new tab shed 3.9% despite forecasting second-quarter revenue above estimates. Ulta Beauty (ULTA.O), opens new tab gained 8.6% after the cosmetics retailer raised its annual profit forecast after beating quarterly results. Zscaler (ZS.O), opens new tab advanced 3.2% as the cloud security firm raised its annual profit and revenue forecasts and named Kevin Rubin as its chief financial officer. Later in the day, the Personal Consumption Expenditure data - the Fed's favored inflation indicator - is scheduled for release at 8:30 a.m. ET, which could shed more light on the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate trajectory. Trump called Fed Chair Jerome Powell to the White House late on Thursday for their first face-to-face meeting since he took office in January and told the central bank chief he was making a "mistake" by not lowering interest rates. Traders currently see at least two 25 basis points of cuts by the end of the year, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
EasyJet loss widens but UK budget airline confirms its 2025 targets
Low-cost UK airline EasyJet saw its shares plunge on Thursday morning after the company reported widening losses but confirmed its targets for the financial year. The airline's headline loss before tax was £394 million (€467.3m) for the six months ending 31 March 2025, the first half of the company's financial year ending in September 2025. This compares to £350m (€415.1m) for the previous year. EasyJet also reported an 8% rise in its group revenue, to £3.53 billion (€4.2bn) from £3.27bn (€3.9bn) for the same period. Seat capacity increased by 6%, and the number of passengers rose by 8%. Strong winter bookings helped boost the results, but the timing of Easter made a negative impact of £50m (€59.3m). The income was also dragged down by increased investment and higher fuel costs. Related World first as EasyJet tries new paint technique for a lighter shade of plane EasyJet's losses ease as airline sees gain in year-end passenger numbers The company's share price plunged in the morning trade in London by 6%, it made up some losses by 10 a.m. when the shares traded more than 3% cheaper than the previous day's close. EasyJet holidays, the company's tour operator branch, delivered a £44m (€52.2m) profit, £13m (€15.4m) more compared to the same period in the previous year. The travel operator branch Easyjet holiday, which accounts for more than one-tenth of the group's revenue, has just teamed up with Tesco Clubcard, potentially reaching 23 million households. It is also expected to deliver a passenger growth of around 25% until the end of September 2025. Concerning the group's overall performance, 'We saw a strong financial performance in April reflecting the shift in Easter this year,' the report said, underpinning the company's expectations to be able to deliver its financial targets. The airline aims to generate more than £1bn (€1.2bn) in annual profit in the medium term. This is supported by increased bookings for the summer, with the third and fourth quarters already being 80% and 42% sold, respectively. 'We remain focused on delivering another record summer this year, expecting to drive strong earnings growth as we continue to progress towards our target of sustainably generating over £1 billion of annual profit before tax,' Kenton Jarvis, CEO of easyJet, said. The company is adopting new planes that are more fuel efficient, lowering costs, while adding new destinations. Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said, 'Despite having posted its usual and expected winter loss, easyJet has on closer inspection made the sort of progress which should ensure another year of growing profitability.' As for the plunging share price, 'the price has risen by 21% over the last year, as compared to a gain of 4.5% for the wider FTSE100,' Hunter said, adding that good numbers for April are supporting hopes for the group. 'The market consensus of the shares as a buy [is] unlikely to waver despite any early turbulence in the share price reaction.' Sign in to access your portfolio
Daily Mail
02-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
NatWest profits soar as lender prepares to return to private ownership
NatWest Group lifted full-year guidance on Friday after a strong start to 2025. The lender told shareholders it expects full-year income to be at the upper end of guidance after recording deposit margin expansion, rising customer balances, and trading activity in the first quarter. Natwest, which owns the Royal Bank of Scotland, reported its operating pre-tax profits climbed to £1.8billion in the three months ending March. Earnings were 36.2 per cent higher than the same period last year and far above the £1.6billion anticipated by analysts. It comes as NatWest prepares to return to full private ownership for the first time since it was rescued from collapse by the government at the height of the 2008 global financial crisis. The government's stake in NatWest fell below 2 per cent on Thursday, having cut its shareholding from nearly 40 per cent in December 2023. Natwest's overall profits jumped by 35.9 per cent to £1.3billion, although they rose by just 1 per cent from the prior quarter. Total income touched nearly £4billion after increasing by 14.5 per year-on-year Net interest income - the difference between what a bank pays savers and charges borrowers- soared by 14.1 per cent to over £3billion. NatWest now predicts its annual income will be towards the upper end of its previously guided range of between £15.2billion and £15.7billion. Paul Thwaite, chief executive of NatWest, said the 'performance demonstrates the positive momentum in our business as we deliver against clear strategic priorities'. He added: 'The strength of our balance sheet means we are well placed to help our customers navigate any challenges, whilst also investing in our business and delivering returns to shareholders.' The FTSE 100 firm also revealed net loans were 4.2 per cent higher at £371.9billion, thanks partly to homebuyers rushing to take out mortgages ahead of incoming tax hikes. At the start of April, the zero threshold on stamp duty halved to £125,000, while the first-time buyers ' threshold slumped from £425,000 to £300,000. But though stamp duty has gone up, all major UK lenders, including NatWest, have begun offering fixed-rate mortgage deals of under 4 per cent in recent weeks. It comes amid hopes of base rate cuts by the Bank of England, which last reduced in February by 0.25 percentage points to 4.5 per cent. Investment banking group Morgan Stanley believes the BoE will slash rates to as low as 3.25 per cent this year. Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said: 'While it may be over simplistic to describe banks as basically providing loans and taking deposits, these are of course crucial planks and both are currently growing' NatWest Group shares were 2.2 per cent higher at 486.1p on Friday morning, taking their gains over the past year to around 60 per cent.
Scotsman
02-05-2025
- Business
- Scotsman
RBS owner NatWest on cusp of full private ownership as profits leap 36%: shares rise
'The stars are aligning for NatWest and this latest quarter has added to the growing momentum' – Richard Hunter, Interactive Investor Sign up to our Scotsman Money newsletter, covering all you need to know to help manage your money. Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Royal Bank of Scotland parent NatWest Group received a share uplift after revealing a jump in profits as the lending giant insisted its customers were 'resilient' against global economic uncertainty. The group, which also incorporates Coutts, reported an operating pre-tax profit of £1.8 billion for the first three months of 2025. The result was 36 per cent higher than the £1.3bn generated this time last year and exceeded the expectations of analysts for the period. Income was boosted by customer balances growing, higher lending and more trading activity. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The amount of money deposited by customers increased by £2.1bn during the quarter, including in current accounts, despite an upsurge in tax payments ahead of the new financial year. Royal Bank of Scotland forms part of FTSE-100 NatWest Group. Net loans, meanwhile, jumped by £3.4bn, driven by mortgage and business lending as house buyers rushed to complete deals ahead of stamp duty relief being cut from April. The latest results come as the bank edges closer to privatisation, with the UK government's stake falling below 2 per cent on Thursday. NatWest has said it would be a 'symbolic moment' when it returns fully to private ownership after being bailed out by the taxpayer during the financial crisis in 2008 and 2009. The Treasury's shareholding is expected to have been fully sold by the middle of this year. NatWest's chief executive Paul Thwaite said the bank was expecting to report income at the 'upper end' of its guidance for the full year. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad He added: 'In the face of increased global economic uncertainty, our customers remain resilient and we saw good levels of activity through [the first quarter]. The strength of our balance sheet means we are well-placed to help our customers navigate any challenges whilst also investing in our business and delivering returns to shareholders.' The bank said it was monitoring and would react to changing conditions, as US tariffs sent shockwaves through financial markets last month and have raised concerns over the outlook for global economic growth. Interest rates are still expected to ease over the coming months. John Moore, senior investment manager at wealth firm RBC Brewin Dolphin, said: 'NatWest is in good shape as it edges closer to full private ownership, with profits rising more than one-third in the first quarter of this year. Despite the volatility of the last few months and the uncertain economic outlook in the UK, the bank's guidance is also optimistic. 'NatWest's recent success has been built on cutting costs, simplicity and keeping its capital base tight, providing it with a strong balance sheet and solid foundation to build on. With some of its peers potentially retreating from the UK, that may open up opportunities for acquisition or other forms of expansion, which would provide further scale while sticking to the three pillars of the bank's strategy.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, the investment platform, added: 'The stars are aligning for NatWest and this latest quarter has added to the growing momentum, prompting another upgrade to its guidance for the full year.'
