FTSE 100 Advances; BP Rises As Activist Hedge Fund Elliott Takes Stake

RTTNews | 19h 4min ago

(RTTNews) - Th U.K. market climbed to fresh record highs Monday morning, lifted by strong gains in one of the world's largest oil companies & gas company BP Plc.

Investors are also awaiting U.S. President Donald Trump's next moves on tariffs. Trump said over the weekend that he would announce new 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports, raising fears of a brewing global trade war and its potential impact on the global economy.

China's retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods take effect later in the day. Trump has stated that he would announce reciprocal tariffs on Tuesday or Wednesday that mirror the tariffs those countries charge on American exports.

The benchmark FTSE 100 was up 42.70 points or 0.49% at 8,743.23 a little while ago.

BP shares are up nearly 6.5% after activist investor Elliott Investment Management built a stake in the company. Elliott's involvement at BP will reportedly result in an overhaul of the struggling firm's strategy and a shake-up of its board.

In mid- January, there were reports that BP was planning to cut around 4,700 jobs, representing over 5% of its workforce, as part of a major cost-reduction initiative.

BP CEO Murray Auchincloss earlier had stated that the company intends to deliver at least $2 billion of cash savings by the end of 2026.

Vistry Group is up almost 3% and Airtel Africal is gaining about 2.5%. Vodafone Group is climbing nearly 2%. Fresnillo, Barrat Redrow, Prudential, Taylor Wimpey, British American Tobacco, Land Securities, Halma, Berkeley Group Holdings, Centrica, Haleon and Segro are up 1 to 1.7%.

Imperial Brands, Howden Joinery, B&M European Value Retail, Kingfisher, ICP and HSBC Holdings are also notbaly higher.

BAE Systems, IAG and SSE are down 1.6 to 2%. Weir Group, Shell, EasyJet, Compass Group, Rio Tinto, DCC and Standard Chartered are down 0.3 to 1%.

On the economic front, a report compiled by S&P Global said UK job vacancies decreased the most since August 2020 as higher cost of employing staff due to the changes in government policies weighed on hiring activity.

Vacancy numbers fell especially sharply for permanent worker, with the rate of contraction accelerating for the fifth successive month, the KPMG/REC Report on Jobs survey revealed. That said, temp workers dropped the most since June 2020.

There was a steep drop in permanent placements in January as falling demand for workers and a general air of business uncertainty damped the labor market.

Additional Support Expected For China Stock Market

The China stock market has moved higher in three straight sessions, improving almost 90 points or 2.8 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 3,320-point plateau and it may add to its winnings again on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, supported by the oil, finance and technology sectors. The European and U.S. markets saw modest upside and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit. The SCI finished modestly higher again on Monday as gains from the properties and resource stocks were offset by weakness from the financial shares. For the day, the index added 18.50 points or 0.56 percent to finish at 3,322.17 after trading between 3,299.24 and 3,325.36. The Shenzhen Composite Index climbed 21.57 points or 1.08 percent to end at 2,017.81. Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China fell 0.30 percent, while Bank of China dipped 0.19 percent, China Merchants Bank collected 1.00 percent, China Life Insurance shed 0.54 percent, Jiangxi Copper added 0.42 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) improved 0.77 percent, Yankuang Energy lost 0.67 percent, PetroChina slipped 0.36 percent, China Shenhua Energy and Huaneng Power both sank 0.77 percent, Gemdale gained 0.42 percent, Poly Developments perked 0.24 percent and China Vanke, China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China and China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) were unchanged.

RTTNews | 5h 30min ago

Taiwan Shares May Bounce Higher Again On Tuesday

The Taiwan stock market on Monday wrote a finish to the four-day winning streak in which it had spiked more than 760 points or 3.4 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just above the 23,250-point plateau although it may see renewed support on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, supported by the oil, finance and technology sectors. The European and U.S. markets saw modest upside and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.

RTTNews | 6h 0min ago

Singapore Bourse May Add To Its Winnings On Tuesday

The Singapore stock market has moved higher in three straight sessions, collecting almost 60 points or 1.7 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 3,875-point plateau and it's likely to open to the upside again on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, supported by the oil, finance and technology sectors. The European and U.S. markets saw modest upside and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit. The STI finished modestly higher on Monday as gains from the financials and telecoms were offset by weakness from the industrials and properties. For the day, the index added 13.71 points or 0.36 percent to finish at 3,875.13 after trading between 3,872.98 and 3,921.30. Among the actives, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust gathered 0.51 percent, while CapitaLand Investment tanked 1.99 percent, City Developments dipped 0.40 percent, DBS Group jumped 1.57 percent, DFI Retail gained 0.85 percent, Genting Singapore rose 0.68 percent, Hongkong Land plummeted 3.67 percent, Keppel DC REIT sank 0.91 percent, Keppel Ltd fell 0.74 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust shed 0.83 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust lost 0.81 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation collected 0.35 percent, SATS stumbled 1.82 percent, Seatrium Limited slumped 0.93 percent, SembCorp Industries dropped 0.92 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering plunged 2.00 percent, SingTel advanced 0.91 percent, Thai Beverage retreated 0.97 percent, Venture Corporation rallied 1.91 percent, Wilmar International and Jardine Matheson both eased 0.30 percent, Yangzijiang Financial spiked 2.11 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding slid 0.66 percent and Comfort DelGro, Emperador, Mapletree Industrial Trust and UOL Group were unchanged.

RTTNews | 6h 30min ago

TSX Ends On Strong Note Despite Tariff Threats

Despite U.S. President Donald Trump's fresh tariff threats, the Canadian market stayed positive on Monday and closed on a strong note, as higher commodity prices and expectations of more monetary easing by a few central banks helped underpin sentiment.

RTTNews | 6h 42min ago

Higher Open Called For South Korea Stock Market

The South Korea stock market has moved lower in back-to-back sessions, giving away more than 15 points or 0.6 percent along the way. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,520-point plateau although it may find support on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, supported by the oil, finance and technology sectors. The European and U.S. markets saw modest upside and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit. The KOSPI finished barely lower on Monday following losses from the industrials and mixed performances from the financial shares and technology stocks. For the day, the index eased 0.65 points or 0.03 percent to finish at 2,521.27 after trading between 2,499.18 and 2,527.33. Volume was 386.81 million shares worth 10.38 trillion won. There were 454 decliners and 414 gainers. Among the actives, Shinhan Financial collected 0.30 percent, while KB Financial retreated 1.28 percent, Hana Financial slumped 1.46 percent, Samsung Electronics rallied 3.54 percent, Samsung SDI improved 0.72 percent, LG Electronics lost 0.63 percent, SK Hynix stumbled 2.41 percent, Naver advanced 0.89 percent, LG Chem jumped 1.81 percent, Lotte Chemical weakened 1.65 percent, SK Innovation dipped 0.26 percent, POSCO Holdings sank 0.84 percent, SK Telecom fell 0.36 percent, KEPCO was down 0.24 percent, Hyundai Mobis eased 0.20 percent, Hyundai Motor shed 0.55 percent and Kia Motors tumbled 1.97 percent.

RTTNews | 7h 0min ago

Dollar Extends Gains Against Major Counterparts

The U.S. dollar gained against its major counterparts on Monday amid concerns about inflation and slightly fading hopes of more interest rate cuts by the Fed following new tariff threats from U.S. President Donald Trump.

RTTNews | 7h 47min ago

U.S. Households' Longer Term Inflation Expectations Rise: NY Fed Survey

American households' expectations of inflation in five years increased in January, while their spending growth hopes fell to the lowest level in four years, results of a survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showed on Monday.

RTTNews | 9h 32min ago

Canadian Market Holds Firm, Look Set To Close On Strong Note

Despite U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff threats, the Canadian markets remains firmly placed in positive territory Monday afternoon with stocks from across several sectors moving higher on strong buying support. Higher commodity prices and expectations of more monetary easing by several central banks appear to be prompting investors to pick up stocks.

RTTNews | 10h 8min ago

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