Proactive Investors -
- FTSE 100 up 33 points at 7,353
- UBS says Rolls-Royce (LON:RR) could reach 600p in upside case
- Berenberg tips 888 Holdings (LON:888), price target 190p
Steady start on Wall Street
US stocks have made a mixed start to Thursday's session with Nvidia lifting the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq while the Dow lagged behind.
Shortly after the opening the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.1% at 34,452.61, the S&P 500 was up 0.2% at 4,446.28 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.3% at 13,763.09.
Nvidia remains the star of the show, opening 4.7% higher after its blow-out quarterly earnings.
“Nvidia is seen as the poster child for artificial intelligence, with its chips playing a key role in the roll-out of AI systems. AI has been the hot investment theme in 2023 and Nvidia’s results imply there is a lot more to go for," said Russ Mould at AJ Bell.
In economic news, new orders for long-lasting goods in the US declined by the most in more than three years, as demand for aircraft weakened.
Durable goods orders, which include washing machines, cars and aircraft, fell 5.2% in July from the previous month, according to the Census Bureau, the biggest decline since April 2020 and below economists’ expectations of 4%.
Excluding transportation, which had boosted the headline figure for four consecutive months, new orders for durable goods increased 0.5% in July, up from a 0.2% monthly increase in June.
New orders for non-defence capital goods excluding aircraft, considered a proxy for business investment, rose 0.1% in July, rising above a 0.4% decline in June.
Elsewhere, new claims for US unemployment support were lower than expected last week, figures on Thursday showed.
According to the Department of Labor, initial jobless claims totalled 230,000 in the week ended August 19, falling by 10,000 from an upwardly revised 240,000 the week prior.
The latest reading came below FXStreet-cited consensus, which expected the figure to hold steady at 240,000.
Ofgem poised to unveil this winter's price cap on Friday
Ofgem will likely announce a reduction in its price cap for October onwards on Friday, as households brace for yet another winter of higher-than-usual energy bills.
Though Cornwall Insight analysts anticipate the next cap will fall from £2,074 currently to £1,926 on October 1, others have warned that bills could actually rise for some year-on-year.
Given government support last year, including subsidies on the unit prices of households’ energy and £400 bill support payments, think tank the Resolution Foundation found that those using less than the typical amount of energy could face higher bills this winter.