- FTSE 100 closes 2 points ahead
- Wall Street stays mixed as earnings eyed
- Miners weak in London, but oil issues rally
4.45pm: FTSE 100 finishes flat
At the close, the FTSE 100 was right back where it began the day, finishing off at 7,912 points.
Fleeting gains gave way to losses in stocks in the afternoon, IG's Chris Beauchamp said.
“Monday’s session seems to provide the template for most of the week – tentative gains that then slip away," Beauchamp noted.
"With such an action-packed week investors are best described as ‘skittish’, fretting that data will prompt a reversal in markets but at the same time hoping for just enough good news to give stocks a reason to move out of their recent narrow range.”
3.50pm: Choppy start to trading week
The FTSE 100 slipped back towards opening levels as it entered the final 40 minutes of London trading on Monday, giving back a move up to session highs as Wall Street turned mixed, with only the Dow Jones Industrials Average now higher as investors awaited another big week for corporate earnings.
Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK commented: “The FTSE100 has chopped in and out of negative territory for most of the day with basic resources, and telecoms providing the main drag, while energy has pulled the index off its intraday lows.
"Weak iron ore prices, which have slipped to their lowest levels this year, are acting as a dead weight on the likes of Glencore and Anglo-American, BP and Shell were initially acting as a drag, however a rebound in oil prices has managed to pull the FTSE100 off its lows, and into positive territory.”
He added: “It’s set to be a big week for the UK banking sector in the wake of the problems thrown up by the collapse of Credit Suisse and subsequent turmoil across the sector. This morning investors got the first look below the bonnet so to speak and it wasn’t a pretty sight, with the bank seeing outflows of £55bn during the quarter, not so much a bank run as a sprint. Nonetheless, the bank was still able to turn a £9bn profit largely due to wiping out its AT1 bondholders.”
Hewson noted that UK banks Barclays, NatWest Group, and Standard Chartered are all set to announce their Q1 numbers later this week.
3.35pm: AI we go
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak today announced a government taskforce with £100mln in initial funding to help accelerate the UK’s capability in a rapidly-emerging type of artificial intelligence, which comes on top of £900mln investment into compute technology announced in last month’s Budget
The investment is to develop foundation models, including large language models like ChatGPT and Google Bard, which are AI systems trained on massive data sets which can be used for a wide range of tasks across the economy
The new government-industry taskforce, modelled on the success of the COVID-19 Vaccines Taskforce, is to ensure sovereign capabilities and broad adoption of safe and reliable foundation models, helping cement the UK’s position as a science and technology superpower by 2030.
"Harnessing the potential of AI provides enormous opportunities to grow our economy, create better-paid jobs, and build a better future through advances in healthcare and security," Sunak said in a statement.
"By investing in emerging technologies through our new expert taskforce, we can continue to lead the way in developing safe and trustworthy AI as part of shaping a more innovative UK economy,” the prime minister added.
3.15pm: Goldman sees UK hike in May
Analysts at Goldman Sachs expect the Bank of England (BoE) to raise interest rates in May and possibly once more after that to subdue stubbornly high UK inflation.
The Goldman analysts have revised up their forecast for core inflation at the end of this year to 4.7% from a previous December 2023 forecast of 4.3%, but lowered their estimate for December 2024 to 2.9% from 3.1%. The UK consumer price inflation stayed in double digits at 10.1% in March, according to official data published last week.
Investors currently put a 98% probability on a 25 basis-point rate hike to 4.5% by the BoE at its policy meeting on May 11 and see a roughly 50-50 chance of two further quarter-point hikes by August which would take the Bank rate to 5%.
2.50pm: US earnings continue to flow
The FTSE 100 index hovered just below opening levels as the three major US indexes started the week on a subdued note ahead of another flurry of earnings from corporate heavyweights like Mcdonald’s, Microsoft, Amazon, and Visa.
Around 20 minutes after the opening bell in New York, the Dow Jones Industrials Average had added 30 points, or 0.1% at 33,839, while the broader S&P 500 and the tech-laden Nasdaq Composite were both up 0.2%.
Wall Street held relatively steady ahead of a busy week of earnings, with about 180 companies due to report, and with the Federal Reserve in a blackout period ahead of next week’s FOMC meeting, FOREX.com market analyst Fiona Cincotta observed.
“So far, around 18% of S&P500 companies have reported, and 76% have surprised to the upside, possibly because the bar had been set so low,” she said.
Cincotta noted that today's US economic calendar was quiet, but this would ramp up later in the week with US durable goods orders, consumer confidence, US GDP, and core PCE set for release.
“The data comes as the Fed is widely expected to hike rates by a further 25 bps in May, but the picture after that is less clear,” she said.
2.30pm: On your bike
Sky New has reported that folding bike maker Brompton Bicycle is reportedly in talks to sell a £20mln stake in the business months after disclosing a drop in profits.
The company has asked shareholders to approve an investment worth nearly £20mln from high street bank-backed fund, BGF, Sky News said. Insiders told Sky that if the investment is agreed, it would value the company on a pre-money basis at about £180mln.
Brompton has been hit by increased supply chain and manufacturing costs over the last 18 months. In its latest results filed at Companies House, Sky News noted, the company said pre-tax profits had slipped to £7.3mln, with margins nearly halving during the year ended 31 March 2022.
Sky said it was unclear how the valuation implied by the new capital-raising compared with prior valuations of the company.
The BGF was established in the aftermath of the banking crisis as a way for lenders including Barclays and Lloyds Banking Group to rebuild their reputations. One source told Sky that the deal between the BGF and Brompton was "not certain" to be approved by Brompton's eclectic register of shareholders.
2.15pm: Lloyds boost
Lloyds Banking Group PLC shares have 58% upside potential based on the target price set by analysts at Jefferies International who have adjusted estimates for the lender as they see scope for larger buybacks and better margins in 2023.
The US bank's analysts have a share price target for Lloyds of 77p on base case estimates, and reiterated a 'buy' rating for the stock. On their best-case scenario, the Lloyds target price is 87p and on a worst-case basis is 41p. Lloyds shares were up 0.3% to 49.00p.
The Jefferies' analysts expect much less damage to Lloyd’s net interest margins from deposit migration, mortgage churn and back-book roll-off than consensus forecasts.
They noted that talks with pension trustees about the triennial review also point to the end of the variable component of current contributions, which would free up £1.2bn of capital annually.
Allied to higher cash generation targets and cost-cutting, this would allow for buybacks over the next three years of £3bn, £2.5bn and £2bn respectively or £8bn in total, the analysts added.
1.25pm: Two more AIM delistings announced
Asimilar Group, the small-cap tech investor, saw its share price collapse 30% today as it returned from suspension and said it plans to cancel its listing on the LSE's junior market, AIM. The decision comes as the company seeks to reduce operating costs and take advantage of a market regime that is better suited for an investment company.
Another London-listed UK company fell to private equity today as Medica agreed a £26mln takeover from Swedish investment group IK, bringing the spate of take privates above five in the past week alone.
Software group Smoove may also be about to join the growing docket of small-caps ditching London AIM junior market in favour of a take-private approach from Aussia software group PEXA. Smoove shares were catapulted over 40% higher following the announcement.
THG Group plc, the online retailer behind brands such as Lookfantastic, Mankind and Cult Beauty, has drafted in a new director amid its own takeover talks with private equity. THG shares were up over 8% following the announcement.
Other market movers today include React Group PLC (LSE:REAT), whose shares rose nearly 9% in after the leading specialist cleaning, hygiene and decontamination company said trading in the six months ended March 31 had been strong.
South32 Ltd (LSE:S32, ASX:S32, OTC:SHTLF, JSE:S32) saw its shares fall as the miner cautioned that although it remains on track to meet full-year 2023 production guidance at the majority of its operations, group production was below plan in the March 2023 quarter due to adverse weather and other temporary impacts.
iEnergizer Limited shares continued to flatline another 50% today following its own delisting announcement last week. Shareholder capitulation has seen the group lose over 90% in market value in 2023 alone.
1.04pm: Wall Street seen lower
Wall Street is likely to open slightly lower as the market braces for a deluge of earnings reports this week - including those from big tech companies - while economic data will provide further insight into the health of the US economy.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) fell 0.1% in Monday's pre-market trading while those for the broader S&P 500 index were a few points lower and contracts for the Nasdaq-100 declined less than 0.1%.
The main US benchmarks reversed earlier losses to end marginally higher on Friday as investors reacted to mixed earnings reports. The DJIA closed less than 0.1% up at 33,809, the Nasdaq Composite added 0.1% to 12,072 and the S&P 500 also ticked up 0.1% to 4,134.
“Tuesday sees Microsoft, Alphabet and Visa report numbers, with Meta Platforms on Wednesday, and Amazon and Mastercard on Thursday,” commented AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
“Cost-cutting has been a key driver for many of their share prices in recent months, yet investors will want to know that underlying business is still healthy otherwise the recent rally in US tech names could grind to a halt.
“We’re also getting updates from companies that provide popular food and drink products, namely Coca-Cola which reports today and PepsiCo and McDonald’s tomorrow. They are expected to have seen resilient demand given their low-price points,” Mould added.
The earnings season so far has broadly beaten expectations, although the bar was set extremely low this time around, noted Richard Hunter, head of markets at interactive investor.
“The true impact of the Federal Reserve’s tightening policy, which has still yet to be fully proven in economic terms, is also yet to permeate corporate earnings in any meaningful way,” Hunter said. “That being said, growing fears of an earnings recession are never far away, with investors trying to anticipate any worsening of trading conditions.”
US GDP numbers will also be a feature of focus later in the week, with growth expected to have slowed only slightly from the previous reading, Hunter added. The market is expecting the GDP advance reading for the first quarter to show annualised growth of 2% from 2.6% in the fourth quarter of 2022.
FTSE 100 saw some momentum in the early afternoon, hitting an intraday high of 7,911, which was still 0.04% lower against Friday’s close.
12.43pm: Smoove receives takeover bid from Aussie group PEXA
Software group Smoove may be about to join the growing docket of small-caps ditching the London AIM junior market in favour of a take-private approach.
Sky reported that the group, which has a market value of around £27mln, has received “several takeover approaches from unnamed suitors”.
In a written response to the takeover claims, Smoove confirmed that it is in early discussions with Australian electronic conveyancing platform PEXA Group Limited for a possible cash offer for the entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of Smoove.
The board also confirms that it is considering an alternative potential transaction proposed to it by a separate third party.
Smoove would join the ranks of Network International, John Wood Group, THG and large-cap veterinary company Dechra in pursuing a delisting from the London capital markets.
Smoove shares were catapulted over 40% higher following the announcement.
12.27: LVMH hits half a trillion
The European markets may not be on fire today, but luxury brand conglomerate LVMH has hit a milestone after exceeding US$500bn (€454bn), a first for any European company.
increasing sales of luxury goods in China, a strengthening euro and a strong first-quarter earnings call have all bolstered the world’s richest man Bernard Arnault’s multinational.
Arnault now has a personal wealth of around US$212bn, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Looking across the broader European markets, Germany’s DAX index is 0.03% higher at 15,885, while the Paris CAC 40 is trading 0.03% lower at 7,575.
In London, the FTSE 100 is 0.05% lower at 7,909.
12.11pm: Burberry chair attacks Sunak’s tourist tax
Today Business Connect event headlined by prime minister Rishi Sunak got off to a tetchy start, with Burberry chair Gerry Murphy attacking the government’s decision to reinstate the 20% ‘tourism tax’ on overseas shoppers.
Murphy expressed disappointment that the refund on VAT previously enjoyed by foreign visitors had been removed, calling it a "spectacular own goal".
He noted that while Burberry had observed growth in Paris and Munich following Covid, the UK's recovery was the weakest among major markets globally, though Murphy did concede that the Sunak administration “is obviously more business-friendly than some predecessor administrations".
Murphy urged Sunak to reconsider the decision to eliminate tax-free shopping for tourists, describing it as a "bad decision made for the right reasons" due to public finance pressures.
Sunak defended the decision to charge tourists VAT but expressed a willingness to review the data.
Writing in the Daily Mail on Sunday, Sir Rocco Forte, Chairperson of Rocco Forte Hotels, stated: “There is clear and emerging evidence that this is costing the UK not only lost revenue in terms of sales going elsewhere but billions in wider spending in our economy.
11.59am: Pound goes positive
Cable has flipped into the green, hitting an intraday high of 1.245. As it currently stands, sterling has gained against the greenback for five of the past six trading sessions.
Dollar bulls remain conflicted about the greenback’s prospects. On the one hand, a renewed hawkishness emerging from the Federal Reserve is likely to boost the dollar’s forex inflows, but recession fears for the US economy are hitting sentiment in the opposite direction.
The US Dollar Index (DXY) continues to trade downwards, with close to 2% knocked from its spot price year to date.
Despite the pound’s strength against the dollar, the euro has made strong advances, surging 0.2% against the pound this morning.
FTSE 100, meanwhile, has pared back some losses, hitting 7,907 at the time of writing, buoyed but a solid showing in retail, fashion and financial services.
11.30am: UK house prices barely rise in April
Asking prices for homes put on sale in the UK have risen less than expected in April amid subdued momentum in the property market, according to Rightmove data.
Average asking prices increased by 0.2% over the past month, compared to around 1.2% seen at this time of year.
In comparison to the same period a year earlier, asking prices were up by 1.7%, compared to a 3% annual increase from a month prior.
"Agents are reporting that many sellers have transitioned out of the frenzied multi-bid market mindset of recent years and understand the new need to tempt spring buyers with a competitive price," said Rightmove director Tim Bannister.
the average asking price for a home advertised on Rightmove between March 12 and April 15 was £366,247.
However, first-time buyer property prices rose to record highs in April and have led the way in the recovering housing market.
Agreed sales of first-time properties sat 4% higher in April 2023 than in March 2019, though transactions for second-step and top-of-the-ladder homes remained 4% and 3% lower respectively.
11.04am: Bitcoin seen lower, gold stagnates at US$1,980
Benchmark cryptocurrency bitcoin (BTC) racked up further losses this morning, dipping 0.9% against the US dollar after a bearish Sunday session, bringing week-on-week losses to around 8.5%.
Bitcoin has been one of, if not the most, successful asset classes in 2023, rallying over 80% to US$31,000 in mid-April after reaching above 30k for the first time in 10 months.
As the global benchmark cryptocurrency, bitcoin aka digital gold has shown close alignment with the physical variety in 2023, due to their alignment as a relative safe-haven status amid a volatile streak in the financial markets.
But with things cooling down and a full-scale meltdown avoided, investors may be redirecting their cash to income-yielding equities and the money markets.
Gold has also been in retreat mode following a strong 2023 rally, though has remained stagnant at US$1,980 this Monday.
TickMill Group’s market analyst James Harte said: Both gold and silver are under pressure across early European trading on Monday as focus remains on fresh Fed tightening expectations ahead of the upcoming May FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee).
However, Harte said near-term moves are “not yet enough to worry bulls”.
Gold shines bright in 2023 – Source: capital.com
Back to the UK markets, Footsie has made some intraday gains, pulling itself up from 7,880 to 7,910 by 11.00am.
A strong showing from the retail segment via JD Sports Fashion PLC (LSE:JD.), Next plc and Burberry Group PLC (LSE:BRBY) alongside gains on recent Melrose spin-out Dowlais Group PLC (LSE:DWL) and insurance group abrdn plc have offset a bearish performance from major oil and mining groups.
10.36am: Here's a quick morning recap!
The FTSE 100 started the week lower despite comments from former BoE chief Andy Haldane that UK inflation could fall significantly alongside energy prices in the coming months.
BP shares also fell this morning as pressure builds from shareholders for the oil giant to rethink reduced climate policies ahead of its annual general meeting on Thursday.
AstraZeneca marked a positive start to the week though, as impressive share price gains in recent years saw its market cap hit £189bn, finally outdoing US rival Pfizer.
Elsewhere, Credit Suisse confirmed some US$68bn was withdrawn from the bank in the first quarter of this year, shedding further light on the bank run that led to its forced rescue by UBS last month.
In the US, retail giant Bed Bath & Beyond has filed for bankruptcy protection and will aim to close all of its 475 stores by late June.
And with the small caps, Supermarket Income REIT rose after announcing it had completed the purchase of a Tesco supermarket in Worcester.
9.56am: Sunak to woo UK PLCs as CBI crisis deepens
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is to hold talks with UK business leaders at today’s Business Connect conference in what is being billed as Sunak’s attempt to build bridges with British businesses after fractured relations with former PMs Johnson and Truss.
Sunak, finance minister Jeremy Hunt and business minister Kemi Badenoch will speak at a series of events on Monday to more than 200 executives spanning all sectors.
"We are bringing together some of the UK's biggest companies and investors for meaningful dialogue – and I'm a prime minister passionate about working with business to unlock opportunity and progress," Sunak said in a statement.
Business Connect will in some way act as a replacement for the crisis-riddled Confederation of British Industry (CBI), which faces being completely abandoned amid shocking allegations of rape and sexual misconduct among colleagues.
Almost every major British business has ditched the lobby group following the allegations.
Lady Patience Wheatcroft, former non-executive director of Barclays, said it would be “nigh-on impossible” for the CBI to do its job following the scandal.
9.40am: European markets down
European markets are having a bearish start to the week, with DAX opening 0.13% lower at 15,863 and France’s CAC 40 index trailing its international counterparts with a 0.24% dip to 7,558.
It’s worth remembering, though, that Paris hit an all-time high last week, and year-to-date performance remains at least 14% higher.
“A sea of red across European indices says everything you need to know about investors’ mood,” said Russ Mould at AJ Bell. “While the losses are relatively minor, the fact the key European markets are falling at the start of the new trading week suggest that investors are nervous once again about the outlook.”
Yet Germany’s most prominent leading indicator, the Ifo index, increased for the seventh month in a row, coming in at 93.6 from 91.1 in March.
“An improving Ifo index is always good news,” said ING. “However, a weaker current assessment component and below-average expectations do little to take away the stagnation risk for this year.”
ING says Germany is “flirtation with recession”, although a rebound in industrial activity, however short-lived, has staved it off for the time being.
Bank in London, the FTSE 100 blue-chip index is currently 0.19% down at 7,899, driven lower by a poor showing in the mining and oil segments.
9.27am: Inflation to fall?
Former Bank of England Chief Economist Andy Haldane reckons UK inflation will fall significantly in the next six months and advises interest rate setters to consider pausing further increases in borrowing costs.
In an interview with Sky News on Sunday, Haldane, who left the Bank in 2021, believes that inflation could drop to 3-5% due to an expected slowdown in energy price increases.
Haldane’s comments come at a turning point for central banks in the major economies after the most aggressive tightening cycle in a generation.
Some analysts posited that the Bank of England was done with its hiking cycle, but in contracts to Haldane’s comments, last Wednesday’s inflation read came in higher than expected at 10.1%.
Recent wage and CPI data also came in above expectations.
ING stated today that “if services inflation continues to trend higher and recent survey evidence showing reduced price pressures begin to revert, then the Bank could go further – though the three or four rate hikes markets are currently pricing appears extreme”.
At the very least, the market predicts an 88% chance of another 25 bps rate hike come May.
As for the stock market today, the Footsie remains 0.16% lower at 7,901, dragged by tepid performance among mining and oil stocks.
9.03am: Mining and oil stocks drag footsie lower
FTSE 100 remains down on the day, albeit only a touch, with 9.6 points or 0.12% of losses bringing the blue-chip index to 7,904.
This week is a big one for earnings, with pharma giants GSK and AstraZeneca and banking giants Barclays and NatWest all providing results.
But this Monday is objectively a quiet one, though First Republic Bank (NYSE:FRC) in the US undoubtedly providing some talking points later in the day. The market will be keen to see what one of the US’s largest regional lenders has to say six weeks after the mini-crisis.
Back to the UK, London markets got a confidence boost when AstraZeneca flipped US rival and former takeover threat Pzifer in terms of market capitalisation.
AstraZeneca has added 5.7% in 2023, boosted by strong clinical results in its cancer and rare diseases research programmes, while Pfizer on the New York Stock Exchange has dipped over 20% year to date, burning its market value to around £182bn.
Today’s gainers include Dowlais, the newly spun-out industrial group from Melrose Industries, and GSK, putting the other top UK pharma multinational in a good footing leading up to Wednesday’s earnings call.
In the banking sector, Barclays and Lloyds are leading the pack with around 0.7% gains a piece, while NatWest is 0.5% higher and HSBC is in the red.
The UK heavy industries appear to be dragging the blue-chip index down, with Glencore, Melrose, Shell, Fresnillo and BP comprising the five worst performers.
On the forex markets, Cable has remained essentially flat at 1.244, as has EUR/GBP at 88.32p.
8.42am: Dowlais leads the blue chips
Newly spun-out industrial group Dowlais is up1.8% since Friday’s close. Former parent Melrose, meanwhile, is bottom of the blue-chip pile, having 1.5% knocked from its share price after last week’s three-to-one consolidation.
Dowlais, which joinms the FTSE 250 index on Tuesday, comprises former Melrose segments GKN Automotive, GKN Powder Metallurgy and GKN Hydrogen, which were demerged from the group last Thursday.
GSK is also among the top movers, adding around 0.7% to 1,481 in anticipation of Britain’s second-largest pharma group (behind AstraZeneca, see below)’s second-quarter results on Wednesday, hot off the heels of the US$2bn acquisition of Bellus Healthcare.
The Footsie is currently 0.1% lower on the day at 7,906.
8.29am: AstraZeneca overtakes former takeover rival Pfizer
British pharma giant has overtaken US counterpart Pfizers in terms of market capitalisation in the days leading up to the former’s quarterly earnings call on Thursday.
FTSE 100 constituent AstraZeneca has a market value of £189bn, having added 5.7% in 2023, while Pfizer on the New York Stock Exchange has dipped over 20% year to date, burning its market value to around £182bn.
Pzifer attempted a hostile takeover of its British rival in 2014, but its £55 per share offer proved unsuitable for voting shareholders.
AstraZeneca has been boosted by strong clinical results in its cancer and rare diseases research programmes.
Thursday’s trading statement is expected to top-line sales of US$10.7bn, core operating profit of US$3.5bn and core diluted earnings per share of US$1.68.
As for the Footsie, the index opened 0.15% lower at 7,902 this morning.
7.53am: Sterling loses ground against dollar
The pound was knocked around 30 pips lower against the greenback in this morning’s Asia trading hours, cutting back 0.23% to 1.241 following a flat Sunday trade.
The long game remains bullish for the pound though, with year-to-date gains on the GBP/USD pair coming to over 2.8%.
It’s worth considering that UK inflation remains stickier than in the UK, placing greater emphasis on the Bank of England to maintain a more hawkish monetary policy over its US counterpart.
Cable remains higher year to date – Source: capital.com
Gold opened the week around the US$1,980 per ounce mark, slightly down from last week’s position due to the dollar ticking higher.
The euro gained on the pound this morning, with EUR/GBP edging 0.1% higher to 88.37p.
7.33am: CentralNIC has best-ever first quarter
CentralNic Group PLC (AIM:CNIC) said its gross revenues for the first quarter came to US$194.9mln (£157mln) in the first quarter, according to the web services group’s trading update this morning, while adjusted EBITDA came to US$21.3mln
These figures represented 24% and 15% gains respectively.
Year-on-year organic growth for the trailing twelve months ending March 31, 2023, is estimated at approximately 45% when the audited figures are released on May 15.
Cash increased to US$102.9 by the end of the quarter from US$95mln in the previous quarter, reducing net debt to 49.2mln, taking into account the impact of the company returning US$4.3mln to shareholders via the share buyback scheme.
Directors remain confident that the group will continue to trade at least in line with current market expectations.
In a major highlight in the quarter, the group renewed its partnership with Microsoft Bing to leverage CentralNIC’s existing AI capabilities with ChatGPT.
Chief executive Michael Riedl commented on the results: "I am thrilled to announce that CentralNic has had an outstanding start to the year, achieving our best-ever first quarter. Our continued industry leadership and reputation for excellence have enabled us to secure key partnerships with some of the world's leading technology companies, including Microsoft.”
Shareholders will today vote on the group’s inaugural dividend, marking “a significant milestone in our commitment to enhance shareholder value through a progressive dividend policy and continued share buybacks”, said Riedl.
CentraNIC was trading flat at 122.54 in pre-market trades.
7.15am: FTSE to open lower
FTSE 100 is expected to open lower this Monday, with pre-market trades pointing to a 0.15% dip on the blue-chip index.
Wall Street closed in a stronger position before closing for the weekend started, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average inching 22 points, or 0.07% higher at 33,808, and the S&P 500 3.7 points, or 0.09% higher at 4,133.
Nasdaq closed 12.9 points, or 0.11% higher at 12,072. However, US markets as a whole finished the weekly session lower.
European markets, meanwhile, eked out an all-time high with the CAC 40 in Paris closing the week at 7,577.
Don’t expect too much action on the UK earnings calendar today. CentralNic Group PLC (AIM:CNIC) is providing a trading update with Lok’nStore Group plc has its interim earnings call.
US earnings are more lively. All eyes are on First Republic Bank (NYSE:FRC), the San Fransisco regional lender that got particularly badly hit in the Marck mini-crisis. Investors will be expecting news on monetary outflows. Activision Blizzard Inc (NASDAQ:ATVI) is also providing results as well as Coca-Cola Co.