Record results on Wall Street lift stock markets around the globe
A BUMPER start to earnings season on Wall Street and signs of China’s stimulus reviving its economy boosted global stocks as US markets closed in on a new record high.
Banking giants Jpmorgan and Wells Fargo kicked off US earnings seasons in style with expectations-smashing results, lifting hopes of companies beating analysts’ gloomy forecasts.
Amid worries over slowing global growth, analysts had delivered the biggest downgrade to estimates in three years. The
S&P 500 burst through the 2,900 milestone in afternoon trade for the first time since October, propelled by Jpmorgan’s record first quarter profit. At its intraday high the index was 20 points away from its all-time highest close.
Miners led stocks in London higher after a surge in Chinese lending boosted hopes of Beijing’s stimulus rebooting its struggling economy. Glencore and
Antofagasta climbed 9.8p to 332.5p and 21.5p to £10.23, respectively, as copper prices rallied. Weighed down by sterling’s strength versus the dollar, the FTSE
100 lagged global stocks, pushing 19.11 points higher to 7,437.06.
Elsewhere, Pets at Home tumbled off a one-year high after its second-largest investor dumped its entire £80m stake in the retailer.
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board sold a 10.8pc of the company’s shares at a 9pc discount.
The pension fund took advantage of a 41pc jump in its shares in 2019 after the pet products retailer enjoyed strong Christmas trading. The huge stake sale knocked Pets at Home 23.2p to 140p, its biggest ever drop. Gossiping traders put comparison website
Gocompare.com in the crosshairs of a private equity bidder with the rumours triggering its biggest surge this year.
Broker Liberum speculated on Thursday that there was a “reasonable chance” Gocompare would be snapped up by either a private equity firm or a online “portal” company such as Autotrader or ebay. A buyout giant “may be interested in the information that Gocompare holds”, its analysts told clients. Gocompare, which has been made vulnerable to a bid by a 30pc share price decline in the last 12 months, advanced 8.3p to 87.2p, a 11pc leap. Fantasy figurine maker
Games Workshop regained some of its market mojo after declaring a 35p dividend and smashing City expectations to predict full-year profit of £80m.
Its rise to record highs was halted at the end of last year but the return to form drove its shares 402p higher to £37.12, a six-month high.
Peppa Pig maker
Entertainment One slid 23.8p to 453p after raising £130m to fund its swoop for Audio Network, a creator and publisher of music for films and TV. RBC Capital Markets told clients that the £178m deal “ticks all of the boxes”. Consumer goods giant
Unilever weighed on the FTSE 100 after agreeing to buy dental brands Fluocaril and Parogencyl from Procter & Gamble. The company said the swoop would bolster its position in oral care in the Spanish and French markets but its shares dipped 29p to £43.64.
WPP reversed early gains to drop 4p to 872p after a report claimed that three private equity giants have pulled out of the race for its Kantar research business.