Upstream Share Discussion Threads

[master rsi] 04/4/2024 14:37

DOW

Opening higher with 265 points

[master rsi] 04/4/2024 13:59

Oil prices slip from highs; Middle East tensions, steady OPEC output offer support
Oil prices edged lower Thursday, retreating slightly from five-month highs after worsening geopolitical conditions in the Middle East presented more potential supply disruptions.

At 05:55 ET (09:55 GMT), West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 0.1% to $85.39 a barrel, while Brent oil futures expiring in June fell 0.1% to $89.27 a barrel, both having previously climbed to their highest levels since October.

"Brent is facing some resistance at the US$90/bbl level, with it unable to break above it so far," ING analysts said, in a note.

Middle East tensions, Russian disruptions boost oil prices
The crude market had seen demand after Iran threatened retaliation for a perceived Israeli strike on its embassy in Damascus, pointing to worsening conditions in the Middle East. The threat also came as the Israel-Hamas war showed little signs of de-escalating, as a slew of recent ceasefire proposals fell through.

On the Russia-Ukraine front, attacks on key Russian refineries heralded more supply disruptions for Moscow. Several Russian oil and fuel refineries either cut production or were taken out of commission in the wake of Ukrainian drone strikes.

At the same time, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies voted to maintain its current band of production cuts on Wednesday, presenting a tight outlook for crude in the near-term.

Improving Chinese economy aids demand outlook
Crude prices were also cheered by improving economic conditions in top importer China, following a string of positive purchasing managers index readings for March.

Chinese manufacturing activity rose back into expansionary territory, while service sector growth also improved.

But the world’s largest oil importer still has a long road ahead in shoring up its economy, especially as it still grapples with the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mixed US inventories cap oil gains
Crude was held back by mixed readings on U.S. inventories, especially as official data showed an unexpected build in overall crude stockpiles.

The build came as U.S. production remained near record highs- a trend that is expected to somewhat offset a tight outlook for oil markets.

But U.S. fuel demand was also seen rebounding from winter lows, with gasoline inventories seeing a bigger-than-expected draw in the past week. The trend pointed to robust demand in the world’s largest fuel consumer.

[master rsi] 04/4/2024 13:34

React says three new contracts demonstrate demand and opportunities

(Alliance News) - React Group PLC on Thursday announced a continued trading momentum, as it noted new contracts.

The Birmingham, England-based cleaning, hygiene and decontamination firm said it has been awarded three material contracts for over GBP1.3 million per year.

The contracts include the renewal and expansion of a facilities management soft services agreement with an NHS trust in the Midlands.

Chief Executive Officer Shaun Doak said: "We are delighted that the company has continued its trading momentum winning new customers and expanding its services with existing ones. These three material contracts have been awarded in addition to a stream of small and medium sized wins which demonstrates both the demand and the cross selling opportunities for our services and as such, underpins our confidence in financial year 2024 performance."

React shares rose 3.7% to 68.44 pence each on Thursday afternoon in London

[master rsi] 04/4/2024 12:47

MARKET REPORT
LONDON MARKET MIDDAY: Stocks up as Fed chair calms some rate nerves

(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London were in the green on Thursday afternoon, with mining stocks powering the FTSE 100 higher, as investors digested words from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

The FTSE 100 index added 32.56 points, 0.4%, at 7,970.00. The FTSE 250 was up 57.98 points, 0.3%, at 19,811.62, and the AIM All-Share was up just 0.04 of a point to 742.12.

The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.5% at 796.83, the Cboe UK 250 also rose 0.5% at 17,248.84, while the Cboe Small Companies was 0.1% higher at 14,675.84.

The CAC 40 in Paris and the DAX 40 in Frankfurt both edged up 0.1%.

Equities in New York are called to open higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is called up 0.2%, the S&P 500 up 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.4%.

Powell told a conference in California that the current risks to the US economy were "two-sided," with negative consequences for the economy if policymakers moved to cut rates too fast or too slow.

"The risk, though, of moving too soon, really is...that inflation does move up," he said, adding that it "would be quite disruptive if we were to have to then come back in."

But if the US economy continues to evolve as expected, most Fed participants still expect it will be "appropriate to begin lowering the policy rate at some point this year," he said.

Eyes now turn to Friday's nonfarm payrolls reading, which is expected to show the pace of jobs growth eased to 200,000 in March, from 275,000 in February, according to FXStreet.

Numbers on Wednesday from payroll processor ADP showed the US private sector added more jobs in March than a month earlier.

Private sector employment increased by 184,000 jobs in March, rising from 155,000 in February. March's jobs growth topped the FXStreet cited consensus of 148,000.

Still to come on Thursday, the latest US jobless claims reading is at 1330 BST.

The pound was quoted at USD1.2662 early Thursday afternoon, up from USD1.2630 late Wednesday. The euro stood at USD1.0858, rising from USD1.0827. Against the yen, the dollar was unmoved at JPY151.72.

BDSwiss analyst Daniel Takieddine commented: "The Japanese yen continued to trade sideways after reaching the lows recorded during the last two years and could remain subdued. FX traders could refrain from significant moves as they monitor signals regarding potential interventions by Japanese authorities to curb the yen's weakness. Hiroshi Watanabe, a former top currency diplomat, suggested that government action is unlikely unless the yen falls below 155 per dollar, which could leave some manoeuvring room for traders."

While there was little impetus in yen trade, gold powered higher.

Gold was quoted at USD2,292.62 on Thursday afternoon UK time, rising from USD2,286.90 at the time of the London equities close on Wednesday. It had spiked to USD2,304.89 earlier on Thursday.

XTB analyst Kathleen Brooks commented: "The gold price appears to rally every time there is a rise in expectations of rate cuts from the Fed. We expect this theme to continue to drive the gold price in the near term, and the precious metal could be volatile as we move towards the non-farm payrolls report on Friday."

Brent oil was quoted at USD89.19 midday Thursday, falling from USD89.69 at the London equities close on Wednesday. Brent had risen as high as USD89.95 on Wednesday, however.

BP traded 0.3% lower in London on Thursday afternoon, while Shell added 0.4%. The duo have climbed 2.7% and 5.1% so far this week, on the back of robust Crude prices.

Metal prices were also on the rise, AJ Bell analyst Russ Mould noted.

"Miners were in demand as commodities prices continued to surge – an inflationary development which might provoke some nervousness about the fate of long-awaited interest rate cuts," Mould said.

Anglo American added 3.2%, while Antofagasta climbed 3.0%. Both were among the best FTSE 100 performers.

PageGroup surged 5.5%. UBS raised the recruiter to 'buy' from 'neutral'.

CAB Payments jumped 12% after the cross-border payments and foreign exchange company's Dutch subsidiary secured a payment service provider licence with De Nederlandsche Bank. It means it will now be eligible to provide its services across the entire European Economic Area operating under the name of CAB Payments Europe.

CAB Payments has had a rocky time since listing. A revenue growth warning knocked 72% off its value in a single day in October. Shares are down around two-thirds from the GBP3.35 initial public offering price, despite Thursday's lofty share price rise.

AIM-listed Cirata fell 27%, as it reported annual results that were clouded by the possible fraud saga that hurt its reputation back when it was named WANdisco.

The data analysis platform posted a decline in revenue and bemoaned a "seemingly endless series of 'whack-a-mole' challenges".

Revenue in 2023 fell 31% to USD6.70 billion from USD9.69 billion. Its pretax loss widened to USD36.5 million from USD29.6 million.

"As I reflect on the past year, it is clear that we have navigated through the most challenging period in our company's history," Chief Executive Officer Stephen Kelly said.

The company added last year's events required "continuous firefighting". It almost collapsed in 2023 after the discovery of illegitimate purchase orders.

As part of its effort to move on, the company changed its name to Cirata from WANdisco in early October. Cirata noted that it had been placed under 'watchlist' by some customers in March of last year, "leading to a pause in activities and the then embryonic sales pipeline coming to a standstill".

Analysts at Stifel said the yearly results showed "some healthy signs of progress".

"Better than expected cash was already announced at the trading update and today revenue is comfortably ahead of our estimate. This is coupled with costs that have reduced further providing continuity with our existing forecasts which we leave unchanged at this time. The company appears to have made meaningful progress, transforming itself into a more professional organisation and maintains its target of reaching run-rate cash flow breakeven in the current year, despite ongoing deal slippage and an understandable second-half weighted bookings expectation," Stifel added.

[master rsi] 04/4/2024 12:34

How the UPS are performing during last month

[master rsi] 04/4/2024 12:17

How the UPS are performing today

[master rsi] 04/4/2024 12:04

UPS

HE1 1.175p ( 1.15 v 1.20p )

Some retrace from the high of the day, the expectation is high on the results of the drilling
----------------- Intraday ------------------------------------------ 2 months ------------------------------- 1 year -------------------
INDICATORS

[master rsi] 04/4/2024 11:54

Gulf Marine shares rise as posts annual growth and sets out guidance

(Alliance News) - Gulf Marine Services PLC on Thursday reported double-digit earnings growth in 2023, and it set out its lofty 2024 guidance.

Shares in Gulf Marine jumped 11% to 21.76 pence each in London on Thursday morning.

The provider of self-propelled and self-elevating support vessels for the offshore oil, gas, and renewable energy sectors said pretax profit jumped 66% to USD44.9 million from USD27.1 million the year before. This was due to impairment losses of property equipment reducing by 73% to USD3.6 million from USD13.2 million the year before.

Revenue in 2023 rose 14% to USD151.6 million from USD133.2 million the year before. This was driven by increased utilisation on E-Class and K-Class vessels and higher average day rates across all vessel classes, Gulf Marine explained.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation were 22% higher at USD87.5 million from USD71.5 million.

Looking ahead, Gulf Marine said it expects an adjusted Ebitda of between USD92 million and USD100 million.

[master rsi] 04/4/2024 10:21

HE1
15 Mar 2024 - William Farrington
Helium One Global Ltd (AIM:HE1, OTCQB:HLOGF) has "transformational resource potential" on its hands with the Itumbala West-1 drilling campaign, according to Liberum analysts.

Liberum stated that Helium One’s current share price “does not fully reflect the commercial potential of Itumbula in particular”, with analysts highlighting high concentrations (4.7%) of helium as a potential "world-class" discovery.

Liberum's report emphasised the global helium supply and demand dynamic, noting the critical nature of the balance and its implications for Helium One.

With the Rukwa Basin's risk significantly de-risked through these efforts, the company's stock is undervalued, especially considering the high helium concentration which surpasses global averages for helium prospects.

Key to Liberum's bullish stance is the anticipation of further drilling at Tai-3 and an Extended Well Test (EWT) at Itumbula, which could reveal commercial volumes of helium and solidify a route to market for Helium One.

The company's ownership of its drilling rig was also highlighted as a factor that could provide commercial flexibility and a lower-cost development path.

Helium One is a buy with a 5.3p price target, reckons Liberum.

[master rsi] 04/4/2024 09:47

KEEP an EYE

HE1 1.15 v 1.25p +0.175p

Plenty of movement up with volume of 87M from a lower base, all expectations of Helium being found in the drilling process.
----------------- Intraday ------------------------------------------ 2 months ------------------------------- 1 year -------------------
INDICATORS

[master rsi] 04/4/2024 09:17

MARKET REPORT
LONDON MARKET OPEN: Shares rise despite US interest rate unease

(Alliance News) - London's FTSE 100 edged higher on Thursday morning, despite lingering US interest rate worries hanging over equities, while gold notched another record high in earlier trade.

The FTSE 100 index opened up 18.52 points, 0.2%, at 7,955.96. The FTSE 250 was up 34.02 points, 0.2%, at 19,787.66, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.82 of a point, 0.1%, at 742.90.

The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.3% at 795.53, the Cboe UK 250 also rose 0.3% to sit at 17,209.40, while the Cboe Small Companies was flat at 14,656.34.

The CAC 40 in Paris rose 0.2%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt traded flat.

US stocks ended largely higher overnight. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1%, the S&P 500 rose 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.2%.

In Tokyo on Thursday, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.8%, while the S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney added 0.5%. Financial markets in in Hong Kong and Shanghai will be closed for Tomb Sweeping Day both Thursday and Friday.

"Interest rate intrigue continues to hover, with the many variables leading investor sentiment in different directions," interactive investor analyst Richard Hunter commented.

"The main US indices were mixed to positive in choppy trading, in contrast to recent days where interest rate cut projections have weighed on market performance."

The US Federal Reserve's high benchmark rate is "doing its job" against elevated inflation, Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday, warning that lowering it too soon could be "quite disruptive" for the American economy.

The US central bank has held interest rates at a 23-year high of between 5.25% and 5.50% as it seeks to bring inflation firmly down to its long-term target of 2%.

Last month, Fed policymakers pencilled in three rate cuts for this year, staying the course despite a recent uptick in inflation which has disrupted recent progress against rising prices.

Powell told a conference in California that the current risks to the US economy were "two-sided," with negative consequences for the economy if policymakers moved to cut rates too fast or too slow.

"The risk, though, of moving too soon, really is.. that inflation does move up," he said, adding that it "would be quite disruptive if we were to have to then come back in."

But if the US economy continues to evolve as expected, most Fed participants still expect it will be "appropriate to begin lowering the policy rate at some point this year," he said.

Eyes now turn to Friday's nonfarm payrolls reading, which is expected to show the pace of jobs growth eased to 200,000 in March, from 275,000 in February, according to FXStreet.

Numbers on Wednesday from payroll processor ADP showed the US private sector added more jobs in March than a month earlier.

Private sector employment increased by 184,000 jobs in March, rising from 155,000 in February. March's jobs growth topped the FXStreet cited consensus of 148,000.

Still to come on Thursday, the latest US jobless claims reading is at 1330 BST. Elsewhere, the economic calendar has a producer price reading from the eurozone at 1000 BST, as well as a slew of composite purchasing managers' index readings, including the UK at 0930 BST.

The pound was quoted at USD1.2665 early Thursday, up from USD1.2630 late Wednesday. The euro stood at USD1.0853, rising from USD1.0827. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY151.70, down slightly from JPY151.72.

Gold was quoted at USD2,297.22 early Thursday UK time, rising from USD2,286.90 at the time of the London equities close on Wednesday. It had spiked to USD2,304.89 earlier on Thursday. Brent oil was quoted at USD89.35, falling from USD89.69.

In London, Future shares shot up 11%. The online magazine publisher and owner of the Go.Compare price comparison website hailed a return to organic revenue growth in its second quarter ended March 31.

"The return to growth has been driven by a strong performance in Go.Compare, alongside good growth in B2B, and a resilient performance in magazines," it said.

It noted a continued "challenging performance" in digital advertising, however, "as macroeconomic pressures and low visibility continue to impact the wider sector". It added it is on track to meet its full-year expectations.

Ascential rose 4.0% as it earmarked a shareholder return plan of GBP850 million.

BT and Vodafone moved in opposite directions, as a UK watchdog announced a deeper probe of the latter's planned tie-up with Three.

BT added 2.5%, while Vodafone lost 0.3%.

The UK's competition watchdog on Thursday said the proposed merger of Vodafone's UK offering with CK Hutchison-owned Three UK will be the subject of a more in-depth probe.

The Competition & Markets Authority said any measures to soothe antitrust concerns were not offered to the regulator.

"The CMA has therefore decided to refer this merger for a phase 2 investigation," it said.

Elsewhere in London, Cavendish Financial jumped 30%.

The stockbroker, created by the merger of finnCap Group and Cenkos Securities, said it saw "significant growth" in the second half to March 31, with revenue jumping 77% to GBP34.5 million from the pro-forma first-half revenue of GBP19.5 million. Revenue for the full-year is expected to rise 44% to GBP47.5 million from GBP32.9 million. Pro-forma revenue of GBP54 million is expected, rising from GBP50.5 million.

The pro-forma calculations are made adding the revenue of finnCap and Cenkos as if they were consolidated fully during that time.

"The newly merged team delivered an H2 performance well ahead of H1 as we completed multiple deals for our clients, across all parts of our business and strengthened our balance sheet further," Cavendish said.

"Whilst the interest rate cycle appears to have peaked, conditions continue to impact demand for UK equities, making deal execution in ECM challenging across all market participants. However, private and public M&A has remained buoyant in H2 and our pipeline across both ECM and M&A remains good."

[master rsi] 04/4/2024 09:04

EEE 7.80 v 8.20p +0.40p

Up and down, pause and now ready to move higher again the last buy 7.997p was close to the full offer 8p

It is now

[master rsi] 04/4/2024 08:20

FTSE

Up 11 points from the start

[master rsi] 03/4/2024 23:34

EEE 7.60p +0.60p

When the MACD line crosses from below to above the signal line, the indicator is considered bullish.
Convergence occurs when the moving averages move towards each other

[master rsi] 03/4/2024 22:31

Director dealings: Airtel Africa non-exec keeps buying shares
(Sharecast News) - Indian Continent Investment, a firm linked to Airtel Africa non-executive director Shravin Bharti Mittal, added to its stake in the telecommunications group ahead of the Easter break.

On 28 March, the firm purchased approximately 1.140m shares, at £1.0593 apiece, through the London Stock Exchange.

The total transaction amount reached £1,207,338.17.

It followed a flurry of other large share purchases throughout the latter half of the second quarter.

Top Director Buys

Endeavour Mining (EDV)

Director name: Sawiris,Naguib

Amount purchased: 47,820 @ 2,838.58p

Value: £1,357,408.93

Airtel Africa (AAF)

Director name: Mittal,Shravin Bharti

Amount purchased: 1,139,751 @ 105.93p

Value: £1,207,338.17

Experian (EXPN)

Director name: Pentland,Louise

Amount purchased: 4,000 @ $42.63

Value: $140,598.66

Vanquis Banking Group 20 (VANQ)

Director name: Estlin,Sir Peter

Amount purchased: 200,000 @ 54.61p

Value: £109,220.00

Bellevue Healthcare Trust (red) (BBH)

Director name: Grewal ,Randeep Singh

Amount purchased: 62,874 @ 154.80p

Value: £97,328.95

Vanquis Banking Group 20 (VANQ)

Director name: Hewitt,Paul

Amount purchased: 72,297 @ 54.66p

Value: £39,517.54

Tpximpact Holdings (TPX)

Director name: Sweetland,Christopher Paul

Amount purchased: 110,000 @ 35.00p

Value: £38,500.00

Chesnara (CSN)

Director name: Hagh,Carol

Amount purchased: 10,000 @ 267.99p

Value: £26,799.00

Niox Group (NIOX)

Director name: Emms,Jonathan

Amount purchased: 31,007 @ 64.50p

Value: £19,999.51

Vanquis Banking Group 20 (VANQ)

Director name: Lindsay,Graham

Amount purchased: 35,324 @ 56.31p

Value: £19,890.94

Primary Health Properties (PHP)

Director name: Howell,Richard

Amount purchased: 21,633 @ 91.90p

Value: £19,880.73

Ct Private Equity Trust (CTPE)

Director name: Armour ,Craig

Amount purchased: 3,000 @ 446.00p

Value: £13,380.00

Bankers Inv Trust (BNKR)

Director name: Nandra,Ankush

Amount purchased: 10,000 @ 110.66p

Value: £11,066.30

Vanquis Banking Group 20 (VANQ)

Director name: Watts ,Dave

Amount purchased: 20,000 @ 54.56p

Value: £10,912.00

Natwest Group (NWG)

Director name: Davies,Howard

Amount purchased: 3,960 @ 267.20p

Value: £10,581.12

Vanquis Banking Group 20 (VANQ)

Director name: McLaughlin,Ian

Amount purchased: 18,451 @ 53.87p

Value: £9,939.55

Vanquis Banking Group 20 (VANQ)

Director name: Chambers,Elizabeth G

Amount purchased: 15,000 @ 51.59p

Value: £7,738.50

James Halstead (JHD)

Director name: Wild,Anthony

Amount purchased: 3,160 @ 202.50p

Value: £6,399.00

Natwest Group (NWG)

Director name: Flynn,Patrick

Amount purchased: 1,152 @ 267.20p

Value: £3,078.14

Natwest Group (NWG)

Director name: Lewis,Stuart

Amount purchased: 1,150 @ 267.20p

Value: £3,072.80

Natwest Group (NWG)

Director name: Dangeard,Frank

Amount purchased: 1,124 @ 267.20p

Value: £3,003.33

Natwest Group (NWG)

Director name: Donnelly,Roisin

Amount purchased: 1,104 @ 267.20p

Value: £2,949.89

Natwest Group (NWG)

Director name: Jetha,Yasmin

Amount purchased: 1,086 @ 267.20p

Value: £2,901.79

Natwest Group (NWG)

Director name: Wilson,Lena

Amount purchased: 988 @ 267.20p

Value: £2,639.94

Natwest Group (NWG)

Director name: Haythornthwait,Richard

Amount purchased: 724 @ 267.20p

Value: £1,934.53

Symphony Environmental Technologies (SYM)

Director name: Clavel,Nicolas

Amount purchased: 50,000 @ 3.50p

Value: £1,750.00

Synectics (SNX)

Director name: Webb ,Paul

Amount purchased: 800 @ 170.00p

Value: £1,360.00

Natwest Group (NWG)

Director name: Seligman, Mark

Amount purchased: 474 @ 267.20p

Value: £1,266.53

Bellevue Healthcare Trust (red) (BBH)

Director name: Grewal ,Randeep Singh

Amount purchased: 324 @ 153.91p

Value: £498.67



Top Director Sells

Balfour Beatty (BBY)

Director name: Quinn,Leo

Amount sold: 57,807 @ 381.54p

Value: £220,556.82

Quilter (QLT)

Director name: Satchel,Mark

Amount sold: 190,544 @ 105.38p

Value: £200,786.88

Balfour Beatty (BBY)

Director name: Harrison,Philip

Amount sold: 30,887 @ 381.54p

Value: £117,846.26

Phoenix Group Holdings (PHNX)

Director name: Thakrar,Rakesh

Amount sold: 20,439 @ 553.07p

Value: £113,041.30

Forterra (FORT)

Director name: Guyatt,Ben

Amount sold: 59,298 @ 172.60p

Value: £102,348.35

Bellevue Healthcare Trust (red) (BBH)

Director name: Grewal ,Randeep Singh

Amount sold: 63,198 @ 154.80p

Value: £97,830.50

Phoenix Group Holdings (PHNX)

Director name: Thakrar,Rakesh

Amount sold: 16,296 @ 553.07p

Value: £90,127.75

Quilter (QLT)

Director name: Levin ,Steven

Amount sold: 84,687 @ 105.38p

Value: £89,239.43

Rtc Group (RTC)

Director name: Dye,Sarah

Amount sold: 70,000 @ 95.00p

Value: £66,500.00

Quilter (QLT)

Director name: Satchel,Mark

Amount sold: 38,887 @ 105.38p

Value: £40,977.41

Tpximpact Holdings (TPX)

Director name: Sweetland,Christopher Paul

Amount sold: 110,000 @ 35.00p

Value: £38,500.00

Kromek Group (KMK)

Director name: Sharma,Rakesh

Amount sold: 587,602 @ 5.10p

Value: £29,955.95

Quilter (QLT)

Director name: Levin ,Steven

Amount sold: 26,126 @ 105.38p

Value: £27,530.43

Niox Group (NIOX)

Director name: Emms,Jonathan

Amount sold: 31,250 @ 64.00p

Value: £20,000.00

James Halstead (JHD)

Director name: Wild,Anthony

Amount sold: 3,160 @ 202.50p

Value: £6,399.00

[master rsi] 03/4/2024 22:08

MARKET REPORT
LONDON MARKET CLOSE: FTSE 100 up thanks to US economic data

(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London closed mostly higher on Wednesday, after some data from the US reinforced the interest rate cut trajectory across the Atlantic.

The FTSE 100 index closed up 2.35 points at 7,937.44. The FTSE 250 ended up 39.75 points, 0.2%, at 19,753.64, and the AIM All-Share closed down 0.32 of a point at 742.08.

The Cboe UK 100 ended down 0.1% at 793.01, the Cboe UK 250 closed up 0.1% at 17,166.93, and the Cboe Small Companies ended up 0.7% at 14,656.34.

In European equities on Wednesday, the CAC 40 in Paris ended up 0.4%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt ended up 0.5%.

On Wednesday afternoon, there has been some US data for investors to digest.

The US private sector added more jobs in March than a month earlier, numbers from payroll processor ADP showed on Wednesday.

Private sector employment increased by 184,000 jobs in March, rising from 155,000 in February.

February's job growth was ahead of the FXStreet-cited market consensus of 148,000.

Annual wage growth for job-changers rose by 5.1% in March. For job stayers annual wage growth increased by 10%.

"The market is increasingly assuming that a US rate cut is some months away," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB.

"After another strong data report, this time the March ADP private sector payrolls report, the market is increasingly expecting fewer rate cuts from the Fed this year, with the first rate cut currently on a knife edge between July and September."

Meanwhile, a senior bank official said the current strength of the US economy means the Federal Reserve should cut interest rates just once this year, and not until the final quarter.

Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic, who is a voting member of the Fed's rate-setting committee this year, told CNBC he now thinks the Fed should make just one cut this year – below the three that were predicted by Fed officials in March.

There was also data on the US service sector.

The seasonally adjusted S&P Global US Services purchasing managers' index edged down to 51.7 in March, a three-month low, from 52.3 in February. Falling closer to the 50-mark separating growth from contraction, it indicates growth decelerated.

Meanwhile, the S&P Global US composite PMI output index fell to 52.1 in March from 52.5 in February.

Separately, the Institute for Supply Management reported that the services PMI edged down to 51.4 in March from 52.6 in February.

"The renewed fall in the ISM services index in March is consistent with the message from the hard data that economic growth is slowing from the unsustainably strong pace in the second half of last year," analysts at Capital Economics said.

Stocks in New York were higher at the London equities close, with the DJIA up 0.2%, the S&P 500 index up 0.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.6%.

The pound was quoted at USD1.2630 at the London equities close Wednesday, up compared to USD1.2564 at the close on Tuesday. The euro stood at USD1.0827 at the European equities close Wednesday, higher against USD1.0771 at the same time on Tuesday. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY151.72, up compared to JPY151.60 late Tuesday.

In London's FTSE 100, Prudential lost 2.7% to 720.40 pence, after Barclays cut the insurer's price target to 1,390p per share from 1,640p, while Barclays rates the stock at 'overweight'.

In the FTSE 250, International Distributions Services rose 4.3%.

IDS unit Royal Mail proposed a change to its UK letter delivery offering, as it grapples with weaker volumes, in a move which could see "fewer than 1,000 voluntary redundancies".

The measures could trim the net cost of the UK postal universal service operation by GBP300 million per year.

"This is very dependent on how quickly reform is enacted and the rate of letter decline. These savings would allow Royal Mail to continue to invest in the modernisation and transformation of the business to provide products and services that customers want and reduce its environmental impact," IDS said.

On AIM, Genedrive shares surged 39%.

The molecular diagnostics company announced that the UK's National Institute for Health & Care Excellence has recommended in draft guidance that Genedrive's CYP2C19-ID test should be used as the point-of-care test of choice for ischemic stroke and transient ischaemic attack patients.

Brent oil was quoted at USD89.69 a barrel at the London equities close Wednesday, up from USD88.11 late Tuesday.

Gold was quoted at USD2,286.90 an ounce at the London equities close Wednesday, up against USD2,266.55 at the close on Tuesday.

In Thursday's UK corporate calendar, there are full year results from LungLife AI.

The economic calendar for Thursday has a producer price reading from the eurozone at 1000 BST.

There is also a slew of composite PMI data from the eurozone, Germany, and the UK.

Across the Atlantic, there is the weekly initial jobless claims from the US.

Meanwhile, financial markets will be closed in Hong Kong and Shanghai will be closed for Tomb Sweeping Day.

[master rsi] 03/4/2024 21:47

DOW

At the end another day down with 43 points....

The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.29%, as the ISM data cheered European investors.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 gained 0.11%
and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.23%,
but the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.11%.

The Fed should not cut its benchmark rate until year's end, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic told broadcaster CNBC, maintaining his view that policymakers should reduce borrowing costs only once in 2024.

[master rsi] 03/4/2024 16:54

How the UPS are performing during last month

[master rsi] 03/4/2024 16:37

How the UPS are performing today