April ends on a lower note
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Markets are under pressure once again, with the FTSE 100 30 points lower heading into the close.
- Stocks falter at the end of April
- Morrisons bounces on bid talk
- Busy week ahead
The week is ending on a cautious note, as US and UK GDP growth both disappoint. What started off so well for stock markets has turned into a week of mixed fortunes, despite further evidence from earnings season that US firms are doing well. The impending end of Trump’s first 100 days offers investors a very mixed scorecard. Stocks are up, but the dollar is barely flat, while the legislative programme has not even got started. Q1 was the quarter of hope and expectation, but Q2 could be when the disappointment begins to set in. It wouldn’t be a Fridayafternoon without an outlandish rumour, and the 2% bounce in Morrisons provides that in spades. Ostensibly Amazon is going to buy up the
northern supermarket. This seems like an unnecessary amount of effort for Amazon, which has crushed far larger US firms and looks set to remake the UK grocery market with Amazon fresh.
A new month begins next week, with an action-packed week including non-farm payrolls, a Fed meeting, PMI numbers and plenty of earnings reports. Strength in gold and USDJPY as the day winds down suggests that risk off sentiment is building in markets, something that should only increase as the final round of the French presidential election nears.
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