Main US indexes all up >1% after Trump announces UK trade deal
Energy leads S&P 500 sector gainers; Healthcare sole loser
Euro STOXX 600 index up ~0.4%
Dollar advances; crude up ~3%; bitcoin up >4%; gold down >1%
US 10-Year Treasury yield rises to ~4.34%
Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of markets brought to you by Reuters reporters. You can share your thoughts with us at markets.research@thomsonreuters.com
A RELIABLE BUYER WHEN STOCKS WOBBLE? COMPANIES
Companies undertaking stock buybacks have emerged as one of the most reliable buyers of the assets when others step away, and last month again acted as a backstop for equities.
Corporate buybacks rose to their highest monthly pace in years in April, with a large portion going into U.S. stocks, according to JPMorgan.
“The strength of buybacks in April demonstrating once again the rather contrarian nature of corporate buying which tends to increase after an equity correction, thus acting as a backstop,” JPMorgan analysts led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou said in a report.
This behavior was also seen in the first quarter of 2023 during the regional banking crisis that followed the failure of Silicon Valley Bank, and in the first half of 2022 during the Ukraine war/inflation scare, they note.
Meanwhile, data by EPFR show that $550 billion in repurchases have been announced this calendar year as of May 4, which puts them on track to easily top the $1 trillion mark for the fifth time in the past five years and sixth time in the past eight years.
Recent large buyback announcements include a $100 billion announcement by Apple AAPL.O, and a $70 billion one by Google GOOGL.O, with EPFR analyst Winston Chua saying that “buybacks in the current earnings season are smashing all previous figures.”
(Karen Brettell)
*****
FOR THURSDAY'S EARLIER LIVE MARKETS POSTS:
U.S. LABOR MARKET: EYE OF THE HURRICANE? CLICK HERE
U.S. STOCKS CHEER EXPECTED TRADE DEAL WITH BRITAIN - CLICK HERE
CHIP STOCKS POWERING UP ON THE CHARTS CLICK HERE
US BULLS SAY ECONOMY WILL BOOM NO MATTER WHAT CLICK HERE
ALPHABET SHORT-SELLERS CLOCKED MORE THAN $800 MILLION IN PROFITS ON WEDNESDAY'S SLIDE CLICK HERE
MOVING ON UP CLICK HERE
EUROPE BEFORE THE BELL: DEAL TIME CLICK HERE
MORNING BID: ARMED CONFLICTS RAGE, BUT HOPES EMERGE FOR A TRADE WAR THAW CLICK HERE
Disclaimer: Investing carries risk. This is not financial advice. The above content should not be regarded as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation on acquiring or disposing of any financial products, any associated discussions, comments, or posts by author or other users should not be considered as such either. It is solely for general information purpose only, which does not consider your own investment objectives, financial situations or needs. TTM assumes no responsibility or warranty for the accuracy and completeness of the information, investors should do their own research and may seek professional advice before investing.