All posts tagged: stocks

Stocks fall, oil rises, traders wait for tech earnings and Fed

Stocks fall, oil rises, traders wait for tech earnings and Fed

Published by Sam Flores

PARIS, April 29 : European stocks fell on Wednesday but Wall Street futures were up, as markets struggled for direction ahead of earnings from major U.S. technology firms and the outcome of the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting. U.S. tech stocks had slid in the previous session after a report that artificial intelligence company OpenAI had missed internal targets, raising broader concerns about the sustainability of the AI boom. The Iran war also weighed on sentiment as oil prices rose. While stocks picked up during Asian trading overnight, European indexes were mostly lower at 1108 GMT, with the STOXX 600 down 0.3 per cent and London’s FTSE 100 down 0.8 per cent. Wall Street futures were a touch higher, with Nasdaq e-minis up 0.4 per cent on the day, while Dow Jones and S&P futures were close to flat. Earnings from Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon and Meta are due later in the session.  Shaniel Ramjee, co-head of multi-asset investments at Pictet Asset Management, said investors would focus on capital expenditure plans from so-called hyperscalers, which operate …

Vegas Casino Stocks Hit A Cold Streak As Visitor Growth Muted

Vegas Casino Stocks Hit A Cold Streak As Visitor Growth Muted

Published by Jenni Sidey

Las Vegas casino stocks have been largely mixed year to date on New York exchanges, as soaring costs for alcohol, parking, food, hotel rooms, bottled water, and other basic items have deterred cash-strapped visitors from the Strip. Visitor volumes have been under pressure for more than a year, with Canadian travel down sharply in 2025. Major operators such as MGM and Caesars have reported revenue declines in Sin City, according to Bloomberg. The latest data from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority show that visitor volumes increased marginally by 2.1% in February, but this was from a depressed level, as foot traffic remains below late-2024 levels. Foot-traffic data from Placer.ai indicate that quarterly visits across the top casino operators remain soft, with Las Vegas-exclusive Red Rock Resorts being the only one showing growth. Vegas foot traffic is expected to remain muted this year: “I wouldn’t expect a major upswing,” Bloomberg Intelligence gaming and lodging senior analyst Brian Egger said. Citizens analyst Jordan Bender noted that Vegas is more like a “vacation,” with visitors going …

Stocks and shares Isas: are they right for me, and where is best to invest? | Money

Stocks and shares Isas: are they right for me, and where is best to invest? | Money

Published by Sam Flores

The UK government is keen to encourage people to invest. If you are thinking of dipping your toe into the stock market, an Isa is often the best way, as it lets you protect any gains from tax. Here’s how to get started. Consider your goals Before you open a stocks and shares Isa, think about what the money is for, says Jason Hollands, the managing director at Bestinvest by Evelyn Partners, an investment platform. This type of Isa will only suit you if you have cash that you can afford to put away for a while. “Is it to provide some money in retirement? Are you starting to get together a deposit to put down on a property?” Hollands says. Your goals will help you work out your time horizon, and “unless you’re prepared to be in it for at least five years, investing in the stock market is possibly a bit too risky”, he says. Investing in stocks and shares can be daunting. Photograph: Shahzaib Akber/EPA While you can cash in your investment …

Asian stocks mixed as investors weigh Mideast ceasefire doubts, fallout worries

Asian stocks mixed as investors weigh Mideast ceasefire doubts, fallout worries

Published by Sam Flores

Markets digested the latest developments, weighing the long-term implications of already lost crude supply and the ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz on emerging, energy-importing countries in Asia. “The conflict appears to have moved into a prolonged standoff rather than towards a swift or durable resolution,” MUFG analysts wrote in a note. “For markets, this environment implies continued disruption to energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz.” Asian currencies also came under pressure: the Indonesian rupiah weakened to 17,185 a dollar, within striking distance of its all-time low of 17,193 a piece.  The rupiah has been under sustained pressure since the Middle East war broke out in late February, losing over 2 per cent to become one of the worst-hit regional currencies. All eyes are on Bank Indonesia’s monetary policy meeting later in the day, where the central bank is expected to keep rates unchanged. “BI is not expected to face immediate pressure to tighten policy, instead prioritising financial market stability in the near term,” said Radhika Rao, senior economist at DBS Bank. “Potential …

Nvidia Unveils New AI Open Model, Sparking Rally In Quantum Stocks

Nvidia Unveils New AI Open Model, Sparking Rally In Quantum Stocks

Published by Jenni Sidey

Nvidia unveiled the world’s first open-source AI models to accelerate the development of quantum computing. The news sent shares of several Asian software and cybersecurity firms soaring and sparked a rally in U.S.-listed quantum stocks in premarket trading. Nvidia’s Ising open-model family is designed to improve two critical areas: quantum processor calibration and quantum error correction. Nvidia claims the models deliver calibration capabilities it describes as industry-leading, while its decoding tools operate 2.5 times faster and achieve up to 3x greater accuracy than traditional open-source approaches. “AI is essential to making quantum computing practical,” Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang stated. Jensen continued, “With Ising, AI becomes the control plane, the operating system of quantum machines, transforming fragile qubits into scalable and reliable quantum-GPU systems.” In South Korea, shares of software and cybersecurity firms, including Axgate Co. and ICTK Co., jumped to the 30% daily trading limit. China’s GuoChuang Software Co. and QuantumCTek Co., along with Japan’s Fixstars Corp., rose at least 8%. In the U.S., D-Wave Quantum Inc. (QBTS) rose 10%, while IonQ Inc. (IONQ) and …

US stocks gain, dollar dips on hopes for Iran war negotiations

US stocks gain, dollar dips on hopes for Iran war negotiations

Published by Sam Flores

NEW YORK, April 13 : Wall Street’s main indexes rallied to close sharply higher on Monday as hopes for de-escalation in the Middle East helped investors look past the failed U.S.-Iran talks and focus on the start of first-quarter earnings season. I will go into more detail on today’s market moves below. If you have more time to read, here are a few articles I recommend to help you make sense of what happened. And before you read on, don’t forget to sign up https://www.lseg.com/en/training/learning-centre/learning-centre-catalogue/course-details?id=markets-unpacked-with-reuters-open-interest-rethinking-safe-havens-in-uncertain-times-en-webex for Jamie McGeever’s upcoming LSEG webinar on April 23, where I’ll talk safe havens in uncertain times with my ROI colleague Mike Dolan. Today’s Key Market Moves  STOCKS: European stocks https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/european-shares-poised-open-lower-middle-east-talks-fail-2026-04-13/ close lower as Iran war weighs on sentiment, U.S. stocks https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/european-shares-poised-open-lower-middle-east-talks-fail-2026-04-13/ stage late-session rally on signs of progress in peace negotiationsSECTORS/SHARES: Of the 11 major sectors in the S&P 500, nine closed higher, with financials and tech shares out frontFX: The dollar fades https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/dollar-strengthens-peace-talks-falter-us-blockade-irans-ports-begin-2026-04-12/ for sixth straight session as Strait of Hormuz blockade takes effectBONDS: Benchmark U.S. Treasury yields …

Oil Rises Back Above 0, but US Stocks Hold Steadier After US-Iran Talks Failed to End the War

Oil Rises Back Above $100, but US Stocks Hold Steadier After US-Iran Talks Failed to End the War

Published by Sam Flores

NEW YORK (AP) — Oil prices are back above $100 per barrel on Monday after 21 hours of ceasefire talks between the United States and Iran failed to end their war. But U.S. stocks are holding relatively steady, an indicator that Wall Street still hopes both sides will ultimately avoid a worst-case scenario for the global economy. The S&P 500 was virtually unchanged in morning trading after erasing an earlier dip. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 250 points, or 0.5%, as of 10:05 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.3% higher. The moves were much more modest than the extreme swings that have been hitting financial markets since the war began in late February. The oil market showed more concern, and prices there rose roughly 5%. But even there, prices pared bigger, earlier gains as the morning progressed. A blockade would keep even more oil off the global market, after prices already jumped for everyone worldwide because of shortfalls due to Iran’s restrictions on traffic in the important strait. That narrow …

Oil prices rise as stocks erase losses sparked by Iran war

Oil prices rise as stocks erase losses sparked by Iran war

Published by Sam Flores

The price of oil rose Monday, as a U.S. blockade of Iran’s ports and coastal areas came into effect and President Donald Trump threatened to eliminate any Iranian “fast attack ships” that approached American assets. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content. The price of U.S. crude oil closed higher by 2.6% to $99.08 per barrel. International Brent oil jumped 4.3% to $99.36 per barrel. Wholesale gas prices also added 2%, while heating oil, a proxy for jet fuel prices, jumped 4%. Stocks followed a different pattern, though, and traded sharply higher throughout the day on bursts of optimism that the war will somehow be diffused in the near term. Stocks hit their highest levels of the day after Trump said that he was “called” this morning “by the right people” in Iran. Trump added that “they” want to work on a deal, without specifying who reached out. By the time the closing bell rang, the S&P 500 was up more than 1%. The index’s Monday rally …

Stocks up, oil down over week on guarded optimism for Iran

Stocks up, oil down over week on guarded optimism for Iran

Published by Sam Flores

NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks rose sharply over the week and oil prices fell as a fragile truce was struck between the United States and Iran, with ceasefire talks due to start in Islamabad on Saturday (Apr 11). For the week, all three major US indices advanced by more than three per cent. Oil prices retreated once again on Friday. For the week, they tumbled by approximately 13 per cent. The New York Stock Exchange closed mixed for the day Friday – the Dow Jones shed 0.6 per cent, the Nasdaq gained 0.4 per cent, and the broader S&P 500 index was flat, slipping 0.1 per cent. “Markets are trading on a cautious tone ahead of the US-Iran ceasefire talks,” Elias Haddad of Brown Brothers Harriman (BBH) said in a note. “For financial markets, the key issue is whether peak shipping security fear is now behind us.” Official sources say the talks in Islamabad will cover Iran’s nuclear enrichment and the free flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz. Since the ceasefire took effect, …