Global Market Report - January 31, 2018

The share price collapse of contractor Capita gripped investors in the UK, while US investors looked ahead to the Federal Reserve meeting and tech results

James Gard 31 January, 2018 | 11:04AM
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Asia

Markets in the Asia-Pacific region were mixed on Wednesday morning despite the cue from a selloff on US markets in the last two days.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was once again the best performer in the region in percentage terms, rising nearly 300 points to head back towards the record 33,000 points level.

China’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) came in slightly below expectations, but the sector is still above the 50 mark which separates contraction from expansion.

The Shenzhen Composite Index was around 1% lower on the day while the equivalent Shanghai index was only modestly lower.

Japan’s Topix and Nikkei indices were both around 1% lower on the day.

Europe

Capita (CPI) provided the day’s biggest drama in London – the government contractor’s shares collapsed 40% after announcing a profits warning and the slashing of its final dividend. The company is one of the biggest yielding shares in the FTSE 350 and with the collapse of outsourcer Carillion so fresh in investors’ minds, any bad news from the outsourcing sector is being punished severely.

Higher up the market, the FTSE 100 was largely unchanged just below 7,600, led by SSE (SSE), which said it will be raising its full-year dividend at least in line with Retail Price Inflation.

Yesterday’s strong eurozone economic data – with growth at a 10-year high – was today followed by slightly softer inflation numbers for January. The cost of living in the single currency area rose by 1.3% in January on the same month of 2017, compared with 1.4% in December. That figure was as expected, as was the eurozone’s unemployment rate of 8.7%

Gains across eurozone exchanges were modest approaching midday on Wednesday.

North America

The economic highlight for January, the Federal Reserve interest rate announcement, has been saved for the last working day of the month. The meeting is also Janet Yellen’s last as Fed chair after almost four years in charge of the world’s most influential central bank. Nevertheless, the meeting is not expected to see any change in interest rates.

Today sees the start of the stage of earnings season that grips global investors most, the unveiling of tech companies’ results. Nevertheless, tech watchers will have to wait until after the US market closes to see earnings from Facebook (FB), eBay (EBAY) and Microsoft (MSFT).

Investors in Boeing (BA) will get an earlier view of the company’s recent progress with results being presented before the stock market opens.

Canadian GDP will be in focus, although these are November figures rather than for the fourth quarter. The country’s GDP is expected to have grown by 3.4% in the month of November, compared with the same month of 2016.

The information contained within is for educational and informational purposes ONLY. It is not intended nor should it be considered an invitation or inducement to buy or sell a security or securities noted within nor should it be viewed as a communication intended to persuade or incite you to buy or sell security or securities noted within. Any commentary provided is the opinion of the author and should not be considered a personalised recommendation. The information contained within should not be a person's sole basis for making an investment decision. Please contact your financial professional before making an investment decision.

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Securities Mentioned in Article

Security NamePriceChange (%)Morningstar
Rating
Boeing Co145.17 USD-2.54Rating
Capita PLC17.41 GBX0.19
eBay Inc61.50 USD-1.49Rating
Meta Platforms Inc Class A584.82 USD0.28Rating
Microsoft Corp423.03 USD1.20Rating
SSE PLC1,719.50 GBX1.09Rating

About Author

James Gard

James Gard  is senior editor for Morningstar.co.uk

 

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