An introduction to GraniteShares short and leveraged daily Exchange Traded Products on U.S. tech stocks. The ETPs are listed on London Stock Exchange and provide exposure to major U.S. tech stocks: Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, Netflix, NVIDIA, Tesla, Uber.
Investor concerns led to broad market weakness in the week ending 26 June. Concerns were focused on a number of areas: scope for a tit-for-tat trade dispute betweeen the US and the EU and UK over the subsidies to the aerospace sector; growing rates of coronavirus infections in certain U.S. states; and initial jobless claims that continue to be in excess of one million. Company focus is on BAE Systems, which issued a trading update, BP, which on 29 June, announced the sale of its petrochemicals business.
Markets rose over the week as investors focused on the positives but there are factors causing investors to be anxious, reflected in the VIX, the so-called fear index, trading above 30. Rising debt levels and a second wave of Covid-19 are two of the factors that stand out. Stocks mentioned this week include BP, Diageo and Glencore.
Some insights into what caused markets to tumble last week, focusing on concerns about a second wave of the pandemic and a dovish Federal Reserve. It was a week when many stocks delivered negative returns and in relative terms it was the defensive stocks that performed best. Stocks mentioned this week include AstraZeneca, which is signing more agreements for the distribution of Oxford University's Covid-19 vaccine, and BP, which is looking to reduce its workforce by 15% and is looking to make some big write-offs in Q2. Listen to find out more.
Some insights into what moved markets last week, including some surprisingly positive economic data, and oil prices rising boosted by news that OPEC+ is extending its production cuts until the end of July. Companies discussed include AstraZeneca, BP and Royal Dutch Shell. This new week brings the FOMC meeting in the US, and academics have made an interesting observation about stock performance around this meeting. Listen to find out more.
Like most stock market indices, the FTSE has rallied strongly since its low in March. Investors are starting to ask whether the rally can continue over the summer months without some solid fundamental backing? There are certainly several factors that could spook investors, including US-China tensions over Hong Kong, civil unrest in the US and EU-UK trade negotiations. This week's company focus is on Rolls-Royce, whose share price rose strongly until a couple of pieces of news on Thursday. Listen to find out more
A look at factors shaping market movements from Covid-19 vaccine-related news to Jerome Powell, US Federal Reserve Chair, saying on CBS's "60 Minutes" that "there's no limit to what we can do." Meanwhile, UK retail sales fell sharply in April while public sector borrowing hit a record £62 billion. A focus on two UK companies in the news: AstraZeneca and Rolls-Royce.
This week's review of markets highlights how the collapse in retail sales is evidence of the mounting challenges facing many businesses. The U.S. consumer, traditionally the key support for the U.S. economy, cannot step in to stop it from tanking. Growth in industrial production in China is one of the few economic positives and a factor helping to support the share price of mining companies like Rio Tinto. Income investors will have been pleased by Vodafone's decision to maintain its pay dividend, while, longer term, investors will be wondering if it will be in a position to be sustain the current level of payouts. This week brings eurozone figures on consumer confidence and UK retail sales figures for April.
A discussion of the contrast between buoyant stockmarkets and the rising number of unemployed, and then, as countries start to move out of lockdown, a look at the airline and travel sector, taking the example of Rolls-Royce, the aircraft engine manufacturer. For the week in progress, some thoughts on Vodafone, which reports on 12 May, in the context of merger activity in the UK market.
A number of UK companies have suspended or cut dividends, and it is a been estimated that in a worst case dividend payouts will be 51% lower this year than in 2019. This podcast looks at the case of BP and Royal Dutch Shell, both of which took important decisions with respect to their first quarter dividends last week. The podcast also touches on how the market pullback has created opportunities for long-term value investors, while market volatility has created short-term tactical opportunities for sophisticated investors to take long and short positions. Q1 results from AstraZeneca, Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group are also referenced as well as Glencore's Q1 production report.
This week's podcast looks at oil prices, and the implications of sub $25 oil for the UK two oil majors, Royal Dutch Shell and BP. For the week in progress, it briefly discusses some of the major UK companies reporting first quarter figures and how they will be important for investor sentiment in a week when the US and the Eurozone report their first quarter GDP figures.
