Global Market Report - July 23, 2018

World markets were under pressure at the start of the new week, with the exception of China, as Google kicks off US tech earnings season

James Gard 23 July, 2018 | 10:53AM
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Global Market Report

Asia

Chinese stocks maintained their positive momentum from the end of last week despite ongoing trade fears and President Trump’s latest Twitter diplomacy, this time directed against Iran’s leader.

China’s Shanghai Composite rose 1% on Monday on Friday’s close to just below 2,900 points. The index is now just 100 points below the key 3,000 level, which it broke through in June and unsettled the region’s investors.

China was a rare outperformer in global markets, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng creeping higher and Japan’s Nikkei and Topix indices falling amid speculation of a change in policy by the Bank of Japan, which drove the yen higher.

Europe

Corporate news gave European investors plenty to digest. Shares in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) fell after weekend news that chief executive Sergio Marchionne is gravely ill.

Ryanair (RYA) dragged down the European airline sector after a 20% fall in first-quarter profits, blaming higher fuel costs. Strikes by cabin crew are likely to blight the summer season, Ryanair said. The budget airline also joined the list of consumer-facing companies warning of the risks of a no-deal Brexit.  

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) topped the FTSE 100 leaderboard on Monday morning as press reports revived the idea of the consumer healthcare division being split off from the company.

The European Central Bank meets this week but no change is expected to interest rates or quantitative easing after last month’s landmark announcement.

North America

After the bank earnings got off to a flying start, this week sees the turn of the tech companies. Even though the US stock market has been volatile in the recent quarter, expectations are high for Google parent company (GOOGL), Facebook (FB), and Amazon (AMZN) after a strong showing by Microsoft (MSFT) last week.

The US economy remains in focus with second-quarter GDP figures released on Friday. Stronger jobs figures in recent months have led analysts to forecasts a strong rise in economic growth in the period.

 

 

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Securities Mentioned in Article

Security NamePriceChange (%)Morningstar
Rating
Alphabet Inc Class A191.41 USD1.54Rating
Amazon.com Inc224.92 USD0.73Rating
GSK PLC ADR33.60 USD0.51Rating
Meta Platforms Inc Class A585.25 USD-1.73Rating
Microsoft Corp436.60 USD-0.10Rating
Stellantis NV12.38 EUR0.13Rating

About Author

James Gard

James Gard  is senior editor for Morningstar.co.uk

 

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