FTSE 100 live: London markets to open in red as Meta’s gloomy outlook sends ripples through tech sector
The latest updates on the FTSE 100 and London’s financial markets from City A.M.’s newsroom in the heart of the City of London.
Overnight, the S&P 500 made a tiny gain, ending at 5,071.68 points, while the Nasdaq Composite edged up to 15,712.75. However, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped to 38,462.33.
Boeing’s shares declined after reporting its first revenue drop in seven quarters, even though it exceeded analyst predictions.
On the flip side, Tesla surged over 10% as investors cheered plans to increase production and offer more affordable models, overshadowing its weaker quarterly performance.
In Asia, a sell-off in tech stocks had a significant impact, with Japan’s Nikkei N225 plummeting nearly 2%, and Chinese stocks, including the CSI300 index, also taking a hit, alongside a 0.5% dip in Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index.
In commodities, oil prices rose slightly, with US crude hitting $82.86 per barrel and Brent reaching $88.11, up 0.10% for the day, as worries about a US economic slowdown overshadowed Middle East tensions.
Meanwhile, spot gold saw a rise of 0.22% to $2,320.99 per ounce.
Poor forecasts from Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, have had a domino effect, triggering a sell-off in tech and tech-related stocks during after-hours trading.
Shares of Meta, the US tech giant behind Facebook and Instagram, dropped over 15% in after-hours trading despite surpassing earnings predictions. The company’s plans for increased expenses, particularly in AI investments, drove the decline, with its stock falling to $418.85.
The Japanese yen dips below ¥155 against the US dollar, breaching a threshold that could prompt intervention.
BHP has proposed a takeover bid for Anglo American, which could become one of the largest deals in the mining sector in recent years, bringing together two major players in the industry, the FT reported.
Investors await earnings from tech giants like Intel, Microsoft, and Alphabet, especially interested in Microsoft’s AI and cloud computing performance. Also, spotlighted are Southwest Airlines, Merck&Co, T-Mobile US, and Honeywell.
Across the pond in the UK, attention is focused on AstraZeneca, London Stock Exchange, Unilever, and Barclays.
Investors are closely watching economic indicators alongside earnings. This includes first-quarter US GDP data and March’s personal consumption expenditures, the Fed’s preferred inflation measure.
Economists expect Q1 2024 GDP growth of 2.5%, down from 3.4% in Q4 2023.
Additionally, they await weekly jobless claims and March’s foreign trade and pending home sales data.